Echoes of the Forgotten
by minkspit
Summary: "You said you would never mention that!" That was what Cross said to Ben upon her previous litter's mention. But the question remains- what happened to them after their mother left? The answer lies through the eyes of Cross's daughter. Collab w/ Noratcat.
1. Chapter 1

She could see the house far off in the distance. A small outline but she could see the yard in her mind, connecting to the woods. Right in the middle of the path she stood. A wince of pain raced through her back as she took a step. Her wounds had yet to heal. It had been two days already. So far, she had scrounged of the land giving herself time to rest. The events replayed themselves in her head over and over again.

"Damn that Akakabuto." She thought with vigor and resolve.

Once she was a hunting dog, quite a good one at that. The only female amongst her team yet she was treated like one of the boys. Whatever her master Sadawa ordered she followed. Bird catching was her specialty, something she prided herself in an passed down. Her mother held that skill and more than likely her daugh-. That word made her stop.

Being a female her owner saw her fit to breed. That was when she first met him. A saluki just like her, a strong male. Love was a different matter altogether. Did she ever love him? And he her? Admittedly, she was taken in by his handsome looks, an attraction formed. It was the first time she had ever been with a male. Perhaps it was just lust instead of love. For the moment his business was done, he left.

His mark had been left for she soon bore his seeds nine weeks later. Motherhood was a new concept to her but she accepted it. Maybe it was the instinct born into her. The pups grew pure breed's. It didn't matter if they weren't born out of love, They were her babies. Three healthy boys and a little girl. Of course in time two of the boys were given away leaving her with the twins. Those were happy times but now thinking about them now brought her nothing but pain.

It was a typical day, she would go hunting and her children would stay behind. Things took a turn for the worst as the demon that was Akakabuto attacked. One by one her friends fell. She awaited her master's words as the monster ran his claws across her back. Then she saw the human running away. Sadawa had left her for dead. There she laid feeling every ounce of blood drop. Perhaps the bear wanted to let her die torturously slow. But she lived by sheer luck. However something was tarnished, trust for humans.

She couldn't go back, not to him. The collar around her neck would stay not being able to get it off herself, a reminder of days long gone. Her friends were dead, they needed to be avenged it was that simple. That would mean something though she would have to leave. That decision brought her back here. Her heart ached for the two she loved. They couldn't come with her. Still too young they were for the world.

"It's better this way." She told herself. If anything happened to them because of her desire of revenge, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Maybe they would grow into good dogs or sold to caring owners. Rumors abound of a slowly growing group in the wild. A pack of dogs who were seeking to overthrow Akakabuto. It could have been a wild goose chase but part of her decided to take that chance.

Final images flashed through her head as she turned around. One of her son, bright, happy and obedient to his elders. Then there was her daughter, feisty, a bit of a mouth, but lovely all the same.

"I love you both." Cross whispered right before she left. She allowed herself to cry as she went off into the unknown. A last display of weakness, in the world of males.

xxx

"But I'm HUNGRY!" The young puppy bounced up and down on the edge of the wooden porch.

"Mom's not here, and neither is any of Sawada's dogs. Wait for them to come back, idiot!" The other young puppy put her paws over her ears. "You're such a whiny baby!" She yawned a few times. She was hungry as well, but she knew when to keep quiet about it. Her brother, on the other hand, always was crying for their mother to come home. He whined one last time before deciding that his sister wouldn't give him any sympathy, like usual, and bounded into the small yard, jumping up and down, snapping at the air.

Their yard only extended a short way before ending in front of a part gravel part asphalt road and melting into the woods on the other side. Though the woods was large place, and tempted the puppies to explore in it, they stayed out of it. Their mother would always keep them away from it, warning them of hawks and other animals that could eat them or be a hazard to them. If any of them ventured into it, their mother would immediately track them into the dense trees and bring them back with much scolding and chiding. While this discouraged them, the stories told to them by one of their mother's friends simply fueled them more. He had long floppy ears like a Dachshund, but was taller and had short fur that would shed often. But they didn't care. He would constantly tell them stories about what hunting in the woods was like. How the leaves crunched under your feet, how you tracked boars, and how their mom and another one of her friends could leap higher than anyone else and snatch birds right out of the air.

Even with all this story telling, they particularly liked to hear stories about Bears. The thought of Bears existing seemed impossible to them, especially if they were anything like he told them they were.

"They tower over any kind of dog in the world, they've got pelts that are three times thicker than a dogs, and their main weak spot is right above their fierce, sharp teeth. And on top of that, they can stand up, taller than a human, and can swat at you with their long, sickle like claws! GRRRRRR!"

At this point, they would always jump backwards and squeal with joy as their mother's friend would imitate a Bear. But it had always been a game. Her mother had three or four friends that lived with the human Sawada further down the road. Their master would often come to talk to their mother's master, and Cross, their mother, would leave with them to go hunting. They'd often come back much later, Pheasants and prey in their jaws or in their master's hands.

But they had been away much longer than usual today. The young male puppy was still jumping around the yard, imitating the way his mother jumped at overhead birds. "Grrrr! Grrr!" The female puppy finally got off the porch and joined him. They'd just managed to forget their hunger and their mother's absence when they heard a panting noise. The scent of their master filled their noses.

"Mom!" They bother yelped and ran toward the smell. But it wasn't their Mother.

The master staggered up into the yard, a thick but runny red liquid covering the top part of his head and running down slashes on his arms and body. He grasped his left arm, which was bent in an awkward and sloppy position. Their mother and her friends weren't with him. The puppies ran up to him, yelping and barking at him. The scent around him was the same as the one that surrounded the dead birds their mother brought home. "Where's mom? What happened? What's wrong with you?" He ignored them, and staggered even faster when he was in the yard. They followed him, running loops around his legs as he walked.

When he made it to the door, he collapsed on it, rubbing some red liquid on it and gasping before he stumbled into the house. He let go of his arm and ripped the phone off its receiver. Swearing and panting hard, he clumsily dialed a number on it. The young puppies were still barking at him. The dial rang once. The young male barked even louder. "WHERE'S MOM?"

"SHUT UP!" The master roared, kicking at both of them. They yelped in surprise and pain before skittering off into the room's corner. The dial connected. He continued gasping, and fell against the wall.

"SEND HELP! IT'S ANOTHER BEAR ATTACK! AKAKABUTO!" The red liquid; blood; ran down the side of the phone. He screamed out the directions to his house before fainting.

In a short time, loud cars with sirens skidded into the driveway. The puppies had been licking at their master, trying to mop up his blood and whimpering. This didn't go on for much longer, as soon other humans lifted him into the back of one the cars and drove off, screeching. A few hours later, more people filled the house, and Sawada came and took the puppies away. They tried to enter the woods where their master had entered, but Sawada jerked them away and packed them into the back of his car as people with guns and shovels exited the same place. Fresh dirt and the scent of blood clung to the shovels.

The two puppies never saw their mother again.

xxx

Cross felt her stomach rumbling. She growled in frustration, though it quickly drifted off into a pitiful whimper. Her wounds were barely being held closed by the thin scabs stretched over them, as Cross had not stayed still for more than a few minutes after being hurt. She'd walked off into the woods, and had gone off with the purpose of scenting any food or resting places she could rest at before moving on elsewhere. Sort of like skipping between stations until she healed and could go after Akakabuto again. It had seemed like a fairly simple plan- but she had only STARTED with a purpose. Soon after walking for a short while, she soon noticed that her nose was beginning to dull, and she couldn't smell anything else. The air had seemed like a thick soup of dust when she'd tried to breathe it in, and it had looked like it as well when she'd been walking along.

A red haze had formed along the corners of her vision. It circled her like a demented halo.

Cross highly doubted angels had anything to do with it.

The plants and all the ground in front of her blurred slowly, like looking through a thick tinted window. Cross's legs were wobbling, and her wounds themselves seemed to be buzzing in and out of conscientiousness. The pain would burn, and then fade out. She could only partially sense the drying blood that ran down the sides of her mouth in multiple lines of varying thickness. The lines were so varied and patterned, Cross felt as though it looked like she was wearing her veins outside her neck when they should be buried under the surface of her skin.

All the plants and foliage seemed to be repeating themselves over and over again now. Light green blur, dark green blur, light green blur, dark green blur, light greenblurdarkgreen.

The ground and the red haze swallowed Cross's vision and senses whole like the jaws of Akakabuto.

Static hissed in her ears.

Her feelings washed out from her like mud of off a slick stone.

Time had no meaning. So it passed.

And passed.

Passed.

Suddenly, something moved her nearly feeling-less body, prodding what she thought to be her neck. Then her cheek. Finally, her body left the ground, and Cross abruptly felt a large weight pressed into her belly, akin to lying on a log with your legs and head dangling off. Except swaying accompanied this feeling. If Cross had been conscientious, she might have heard the multiple voices talking or realized that one of the dogs had picked her up. But Cross wasn't exactly conscientious. So that realization never came before she passed out.

In the darkness she sat and waited. So long she had waited it seemed like an eternity as an often put quote went. What she was waiting for she didn't know. A sign was coming that was all she knew. It seemed that was all they did was wait. As the quite said it had nearly been an eternity. Above the world was moving, changing. The only news she gathered were from spies sneaking about the upper world. They had reported much so she sent them out numerous times, some making it back while others.

All she knew was of the bears. Advancing their might they had nearly overtaken the mountains. The humans may have tried to stand against them but they fell. One demon bear single handedly saw to that. Pitiful really, nothing but a brute over lording his strength.

As much as she would have liked to rise it was not to be. It was not their time. She waited and waited basking in the darkness that surrounded her. It brought a form of comfort. The only light were her own eyes which shown like little lamps.


	2. Chapter 2

He whimpered. His paws hurt, his throat seemed to be slowly drying out as it heaved back and forth, and his paws felt like they were scraped raw. His sister didn't look like she was in any better shape. "Si-s..." His mouth both felt dry and wet at the same time.

His sister slowly stopped, heaving, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Even though the weather looked heavy, with thick, blackish gray, clouds smothering the bit of sky they could see through the trees, her tongue felt cracked and chapped. There was no water to be found, and they were lost in the twisting woods. They hadn't eaten or drank in an entire day. And to think that this had simply started out as a rebellious and lonely idea.

Sawada's house had seemed strange and empty without the customary sound of thick claws clicking over the floor, or the scent of bird feathers that had constantly hung around one of the lankier dog's matted bed. There was no one to tell them stories about hunting, or sound of a clacking chain dog collar. They didn't even have the far-away sound of chopping and splintering from where Sawada had cut logs in the back yard. Sawada had hardly been there, he'd gone out to help with the bear crisis, and would only come home to be cranky and exhausted, and fall straight asleep. Sawada was the master of hunting dogs, he had never had two attention starved puppies that had begged for petting and caressing for every breaking moment. There was a humongous lack of motherly instinct in their life, all they knew was Sawada was their master, and he expected them to just remain alive, not to help or claim petting from him. Finally, the two young puppies had had enough. The young female had dug a hole through the delicate screen door that headed into the backyard, and had accompanied her brother outside. They'd ran for the woods, wanting to find something, maybe, just maybe, another dog to groom them, and to comfort them.

When day had come to their little niche, they'd tried to find their way back home. By afternoon, the simple sound of a dog's bark or human's voice would have made them cry with joy. But they hadn't even heard an echo. And here they were now. "Sis...ter...What're we... gonna do?" Her brother's voice had slowly been dissolving the farther they had walked.

"I...dunno..." Her thirsty throat screamed at her for wasting precious saliva on speech. She walked for a few more steps before collapsing into the dead leaves on the forest floor. Her brother whimpered in agitation before immediately following suit.

Right now was the first time they'd thought of dying. Puppies never died in stories. But their chests felt so horrible, their throats so raw, it felt like they were going to. Plip. Plop. A small dot of moisture hit the side of the young female's jaw and the male's forehead. Water. Her throat would wouldn't scream anymore. Water. Now fully blinking in surprise, she pulled herself to her feet, more wetness dotting the two puppies.

"Bro...ther... RAIN!"

The skies split open, water flooding out. The pair shoved themselves up on their feet, opening their mouths wide and allowing the rain to cool them and their parched throats off. In those moments of swallowing water and gasping, they didn't even bother thinking about food. Who needed food when you had RAIN? After their ears and fur were plastered to their bodies, they felt better. Time to find shelter and FOOD. Feeling refreshed, they got up and headed for a thicker cluster of trees. There was a larger chance of finding rabbits there, or so they thought. Their hunger and rain prevented them from scenting the territory line and scrap of fur rubbed on a nearby tree.

They'd now gotten pretty far into the trees, and evening was falling. There was no sound of rabbits, or birds cooing. The rain had stopped a few hours ago.

"Hey, sis?"

"Yea?"

"Remember the birds mom used to bring back?"

"Yea. They were patriches, or something like that."

"Partridges. They were delicious, weren't they? They were so fat, and tasty..."

"Remember the Coyote who we heard last night?"

"I hated him."

"His weird voice creeped me out."

"He kept telling us to be good little dogs and come out."

"Bro?"

"Yea?"

"I hated him too."

The brother shuddered, then paused for a moment.

"I know."

"Now then, be good little doggies and come out~!"

They both froze, hair sticking up on their spines. Night had nearly fallen. They couldn't see where it was coming from, they hated the voice- "Here, little puppies, you two little furred partridges~!"

Her brother started shaking. "He... he heard us..." His sister started frantically looking for a place to hide, brambles, thorns, rocks, ANYTHING,

She dragged her stumbling brother behind a tree.

"You're both as white as dead huskies, don't try hiding, dear puppies." His sister started shaking, choking in fear. Then, for two long moments, there were no noises.

Silence.

The two burst out of the bush, running as fast as possible, they heard a branch crack from up ahead-

A mass of brown fur exploded in their faces, not a coyote, not a coyote, not a coyote-

With a crack of pain, they were both pinned to ground by two strong paws. A leering face with slightly glowing eyes looked down at them. "Well then, what do we have here?"

The two screamed. And five more glowing eyed dogs melted out of the woods.

The dog that had them pinned stared hungrily at them, jaws open and ajar. He was a medium sized mutt with a brown ridge of fur running down his back. Strings of spit splattered on their faces. He was drooling in hunger. He opened his jaws, they screamed, he leaned forward and-

a large brown and black dog rammed his head into the his side.

"HEY! DRAKE! We have to question them first before you eat them, bastard." The large drooling dog made a face, but quickly backed off. The two puppies bolted upright, terrified. The other dogs, the drooling one included, casually formed a ring around them.

The one who'd shoved the slobbering dog off of them approached them. "Who are you?" the female puppy squeaked out.

"I'm the one asking questions." the dog replied coldly. The look he gave her made both of the puppies tuck their tails even further in between their legs.

"W-we d-d-on't have names." Her brother whispered fearfully. The dog leaned in to sniff them. They both froze. His movements were oily and slithery, like an a snake creeping through the wet grass. After a few brief sniffs, he pulled back. "Nothing to get worked up over." he announced to the other four dogs. "They're just puppies who got lost." The slobbery one raised his lips and ran his tongue over his formidable set of fangs.

"Hey Cain, can I eat them?" He grinned wickedly. More strings of slobber hit the ground. The two puppies recoiled.

"No. No, you can't. We have to let the Grandmaster look them over, just in case." He flashed the other dogs a flat and cold look. The two puppies shivered when the dog the other had called Cain turned to them.

"A-are you gonna kill us?" The female squeaked out. "No. But we have to take you to the Grandmaster." He turned around. "Follow me, and stick close." As the other dogs silently moved out, the puppies had no choice.

"What if we don't stick close?"

Cain threw a glance at them. "Then you'll get stuck with Drake." The two puppies immediately crowded closer to Cain.

Drake hooted with insane laughter.

"Fall behind, puppies. You're going to be deader than icicles in hell if you fall behind."

The two puppies moved right after Cain did, shadowing his movements. Drake had one last sadistic smile. "Oh well." He muttered below his breath before melting into the bushes after them. "If the Grandmaster chooses you, you're gonna be dead, either way."

He disappeared into the bushes with a slight rustle.

The puppies stayed close to Cain, just as they were told. No longer were they in the woods. The strange dogs had led them further in. The farther they got the more dark and twisted the plants and trees seemed to become. Into a cave, they descended, hidden behind some bushes.

No light reached underneath, and the poor puppies had trouble seeing what was in front of them. The glowing of the dogs eyes lit their path, scary and comforting at the same time. Behind they heard a snicker of sorts. Curious, they both looked behind to find the one called Drake. Sadistically or hungrily, they couldn't tell which, but he looked at them. With a slight hiss, he let his tongue out. It wasn't a normal tongue- instead, it was long like a lizard's. The brother gave a whimper as he turned around, the sister kept silent.

"Silence!" Cain harshly shut them up. The pups said nothing more, only keeping closer to Cain. Several dogs passed them, all with the same glowing eyes and dark features. Mostly the pups kept their eyes away. Then they stopped. Looking above, they found themselves in a large cave opening. The dogs parted. The pups gave whimpered gasps as they noticed various bones dotting the room. Most were animals, but a few they could have sworn were human, not that they had ever seen a human skeleton before, but they had never seen bones such as these, either.

"So, Cain?" An elderly voice broke through the darkness. Each of the dogs, even Drake, bowed their heads in reveration. Cain remained in the center as a dog stepped into view. The pups could see it was a female, especially from the sound of the voice. Indeed, she was old. From her body shape, she seemed rather feeble. Ribs showed underneath the sunken skin along with a clear outline of a spinal cord. Dark bags hung under her eyes, which glowed a bright yellow. The dog had several bangs atop her head, spreading down her face and almost covering it. Her fur was an odd mixture of silver and brown. Looking closely, the brown appeared to be an animal hide of sorts, draped across her back.

The puppies shivered. Something was off about this old dog. They couldn't put their paw on it but it felt unnatural. "What have you brought me?" The dog asked in her ancient voice, continuing her question.

Cain looked up, yet still held the respect in his eyes. "Grandmaster, I found these two pups in the wilderness."

This was the Grandmaster they had spoken of earlier. Honestly, when they heard Grandmaster they expected a male, so a female was a great surprise. The Grandmaster looked over at the pair. The male seemed frightened where as the female looked on boldly, only swallowing once.

"I think they might have some use." Added Cain.

The Grandmaster walked over, Cain stepping out of the way. The Grandmaster's neck craned down, an audible creak giving out. "Now what are two fragile little children doing out in the wilderness?" Her voice took on a haunting tone. The female pup was the closest and the breath hit her. Old dog breath made her gag.

"We were looking for our Mom and we got lost." She admitted. Uncomfortable as the sour breath was she didn't mention it. Especially with the nudge her brother gave her.

"Your mother?" The Grandmaster repeated.

This time the male stepped out from behind his sister. "Yes m-mame." He piped. "We-we got lost looking for her." The male found himself repeating what his sister had said. Probably from nervousness.

Another creak gave out as the old dog rose up her head. A look of sympathy crossed her face. "Oh my poor dears, with nowhere to go."

"We're not homeless!" The female rose. Bad mistake, as all the dogs seemed ready to pounce upon the child. Drake did so.

"Sis!" The brother called. He nearly stepped in to defend his sibling, but stopped as Drake darted out his long lizard like tongue. He ran it across the child who shuddered under the wet touch.

"You should watch it little puppy." Drake hissed in a snake like tone. "This here is the boss so you should show some proper respect. Just then, a growl sounded out. It was not a vocal one but an intestinal one.

The Grandmaster waved her paw sending Drake away. Yet he seemed disappointed. "Hungry?" She asked the two pups.

Remembering they hadn't eaten the pups nodded. The sister still lay on the ground for a moment. With no immediate danger now, her brother helped her, staying close. Twin growls gave out as the pups racked under the hunger pains. Their thirst had been quenched, but it didn't please an empty belly, not entirely. A smile crept upon the Grandmaster's face. Not the pleasing kind their mother gave them.

"Not to worry. Our clan is open to all. If you want food you merely must ask." Said the Grandmaster. The pups opened their mouths to ask but were cut off once more by the elder female. "However, one must pay a price." The youngsters looked up. They were too hungry to really argue. "More than likely your owner wasn't too attentive- that's why you found you would tread in our territory." She was right- Sawada hadn't been the most loving owner. "Before we even consider filling your bellies, you must join our little family."

Family? That was something the two had longed for since their mother had disappeared. Truly, they had no place to go but staying here was something they didn't like the sound of. Still, hunger gnawed at them, lulling with the promises that were offered. Minds of children were easy to sway. The Grandmaster knew this as the pups slowly nodded. It was almost an involuntary response for the two.

"Good." The Grandmaster said pleasingly. "Now there are a few initiatory duties we must undertake. First what are your names?"

"We don't have names." They both said.

The Grandmaster raised her eyes. "Well, that makes things easier. All new members must cast off their old names and receive new ones. Now what to call you?" The old one thought for a moment pondering over what could come to mind. At last suddenly did. In order, she pointed to the boy. "Mao." Then the girl. "Mayu."

Mao and Mayu, they had names, something they were never used to. "Brother Cain." The Grandmaster called. Cain disappeared into the back where the Grandmaster had entered from. Moments later he returned carrying a sharp piece of metal, a knife dried with blood. The pups watched with curiosity. Perhaps they were going to slice open whatever food they were bringing? They thought. That wasn't the case as Cain took it to the Grandmaster outstretched paw. Running it across and over the leg, blood dripped down upon the ground.

The puppies whimpered backwards at the sight. The Grandmaster hardly looked pained. In fact, she looked pleasured. "Drink it." She ordered.

"What?" The female, now known as Mayu, answered.

"All new family members must drink the blood of an elder. It bonds us together as dogs of the clan." The Grandmaster answered.

Suddenly the puppies lost their appetite. What they were being asked was crazy. "I forgot to mention, refusal is not an option." The Grandmaster warned. "You two are lucky we stumbled across you offering shelter. To show us such ingratitude…. Well, let's say if you refuse it, it would be as if we never found you."

Drake gave out a laugh, running his tongue across his slobbery muzzle. The puppies got the message. Especially as they noticed Drake's look was shared amongst the other dogs. Hesitantly, they took a step towards the blood, as they were stuck, they both knew it. It was either this or death.

Seeing her brother's discomfort, Mayu took the first lap. Shuddering a thrice time, the blood ran down her tongue warmly, but hardly comforting. Mao went next lapping it quickly to get it over with. They had pleased their elder, The rabbits they offered proved it.

"Welcome to the family Brother Mao and Sister Mayu." Said the Grandmaster. More to the clan.

xxx

"I don't see why I couldn't eat them." Drake complained. He wasn't happy with the recent turn of events. He had had been looking to nice little pup, or partridges in a spin of humor.

"The Grandmaster has spoken, those two are now members of the Clan." Cain answered in a high tone.

The koga dog gave a scoff of clear disrespect. One that Cain didn't approve of, as his growl implied. Drake chuckled, turning into a cackle at the response. "What? You think you have any real authority over me? In age, I trump you. Besides those little brats are outsiders. I can already hear the whining now!" Drake placed his right paw to his ear emphasizing his point.

Cain narrowed his eyes. "Remember, Brother Cain. We found your half drowned corpse and offered you a new life- so I would watch your tone." Cain kept his voice low, not wanting to let his emotions get the best of him.

Drake chuckled licking his tongue slightly across. "Is Mama's little boy angry? Going to tell on me? Well she's right here. No offense Grandmaster." Drake bowed respectively. "Unlike this pup I don't rely on emotional attachments blind me.""

A button had been pushed, enough to break Cain's emotional control. "Watch your tongue you disgraced!" Cain lunged forward thrusting his face into the older dog's face.

Drake laughed. "Now that's more like it! Anytime you're ready, puppy!" Drake dared and Cain nearly fell for it.

"ENOUGH!" The Grandmaster bellowed. Despite her age her voice could carry if need be. Both males stopped, Cain returning to his previous spot.

"Brother Drake, you would do best to remember that Cain trumps you in rank." Drake cursed silently under his breath. That information was true about the younger dog. "As for you, Brother Cain, I expect one of your ranks to act his age. You're both males not puppies!" Both males didn't argue with their leader. Doing so would be the utmost disrespect, and disrespect was not met favorably amongst the Clan.

The Grandmaster kept her back turned to her. Even without her face to them, they could sense her moods. "Now then, Brother Cain, what have you to report of the outside?""

Upon mention, Cain raised his head up proudly. Delivering reports to his Grandmaster was something he honored. "The bears have been advancing their reign throughout the area. The patrol I sent barely made it back.""

A curse uttered under the ancient dog's breath. "Rage filled beasts. Their time won't last forever." It wasn't a threat- more like a belief. "Akakabuto's rage will be his downfall.""

"The humans have been trying to deal with them, but…" Cain trailed off at that point. He had seen much of those beasts' handiworks on the humans. Not a very pretty sight. "Yet there is an army." Cain remembered.

This piqued the Grandmaster's interest. Her neck craned over, the joints creaking as if they were falling under poor support. "Army?""

"Well perhaps army isn't the best word. More like a…." Cain waved his paw, trying to search for the correct term. "Rag tag group." At least he found a proper term.

The Grandmaster's curiosity didn't end with that answer. More she wanted to know. "Are they such as us?" She asked.

Cain shook his head. "No. I saw mostly males, caught a scent of one female however. Recently I imagine."

A sigh of relief breathed under the old one. There was no desire for another competition. "It seems their purpose is to battle against a demon." A smile crept upon the Grandmaster's face, one devious to all who could see. "Whichever way, one side shall crush the other. All we can do is wait."

Hearing that brought on a surprised whine from Drake. "What? So were just going to sit around while they do all the work? I just say kill em all!"

"Brother Drake, you know our time to move is not now. The Conclave has so commanded." The Grandmaster replied. Her voice becoming reverent in mention.

Drake scoffed again at the mention however. "Waiting on a bunch of dead geezers really isn't why I joined up." He gripped.

"Enough! Brother Drake, you are dismissed. You have other duties to attend to." The Grandmaster harshly cut.

Drake bowed. "No disrespect, my Grandmaster." With that said and done, the koga dog left, leaving Cain and the Grandmaster alone. Cain watched Drake as he departed. His eyes never left his fellow, a sign of clear distrust. When the insane dog vanished from view he turned to his leader.

"Grandmaster, why do you allow one such as Drake to walk amongst us?" Asked Cain.

Another series of creaking followed, and Cain's ears pricked up at the sound. It was almost disturbing to him. Yet he found some call to it, a pleasure. Actually he found this sickening feeling pleasurable. Perhaps it was his own reverence to the Grandmaster, for she was more than his leader. He couldn't remember much of his childhood, early wise that is. Whether he himself was an outsider or naturally born within the clan wasn't known. All he could remember was that he was an orphan that he Grandmaster took under her wing. She herself had no children; a long illness had left her barren.

"Drake is an impatient one. He still desires to outs his former leader and rule his old clan. But his skills have been useful to us no?""

Cain couldn't deny that. Drake's ways were already being instilled into the younger dogs, teachings for the next generation. As much as he hated to admit it, Drake hadn't done anything would necessarily imply betrayal. Outside from the occasional comment, the koga seemed bound to them.

"Master?" Cain dropped the beginning of the title. That was what she was to him, his master, his life was to hers. The Grandmaster turned to her protégé, she could sense the desire in him, an unquenchable knowledge that needed sating. "Will our time come?" It was a question that many member of the clan held, outsider or natural born.

"Yes. Soon the Conclave shall tell." Answered the Grandmaster. Her paw ran to her chest. Yes, the Conclave knew all. It was what she had been born and raised to follow. Time would soon come, and when it did, they would be ready.

xxx

Drake shoved the dog against the wall. He let out a whine as his spine connected to the rock. The others sprang at him all at once. Yet Drake threw them all off just the same.

"You call that a sneak attack!" Drake bellowed.

One of the dogs, a mutt just like all of them, brought himself up. "S-sorry Drake-sama we'll try harder!"

Drake growled, sending the dog cowering back with his companion. "You better," he threatened. "the Grandmaster may want me to train you, but to me you're all sacks of shit!" Drake readied himself in an attack stance. "Again!" He ordered.

The mutts ran to different sides attempting the same thing over again. His own Koga Dogs, that was what the Grandmaster offered, it was really more for the clan than himself. Being of the infamous ninja clan he knew their skills, skills that could pass on. Leader of the Koga, It was his dream come to life, more like an avarice desire. Kurojaki. That name alone filled him with rage. It was that same dog who lead him to commit his faux suicide. But by fairness, Drake himself had attempted his own coup. A coup which backfired on himself horribly. Now here he was, training a bunch of ninja wannabes, over eager pups who wanted to be cool. As much as he felt disgusted at their presence, Drake did what he was ordered.

With a last cry, Drake threw them off. One by one they connected to the wall, sliding down like little drops. "Work on some new maneuvers and for your sakes you better get it right." Drake warned looking back at them with a threatening eye. "Or I'll kill you myself." He added with a grin.

"Yes Drake-sama!" The dogs chorused.

Drake looked away, he need some alone time. "Kurojaki, you better not be dead before I kill you." Drake grinned at his thoughts.

xxx

Fate smiled upon her. Death would not claim her soul yet. The rumors were true, the dogs of Ohu existed and she was among them. Each of them had different reason for leaving their old lives but they all had one goal, taking down Akakabuto. Finally, her friends would be avenged. Their leader had assembled various dogs throughout Japan, they were a rag tag group but there was nobody else who would stand against the demon bear.

One problem stood out. She was female. That alone made her the oddity amongst this group for she was the only one. A fragile twig they initially treated her but she made her purpose clear. Their leader, a shiba inu with crimson fur, saw something in her, potential. A few of the males still viewed her as a mere female, but she would prove herself one of the boys if it killed her. Being the new recruit, she was given duties pertaining as such. She took them up without complaint, though they were long finished for today and now she had time alone. The moon shone down on her, coating the saluki in its light.

"Cross?"

She looked behind her. "Ben?" Someone had carried her to Ohu and Ben was that dog. He was a strong looking great dane, his brown fur mixing in well with the black around his eyes. A red collar hung around his neck signifying former human ownership. For a moment Cross found herself fixating on his strong body. It was the longest time since she was taken in by a males looks, not since hi-.

Cross stopped herself right there. That was long ago, an ill-fated attempt at love.

"Are you alright Cross?" Ben asked.

Apparently, he had come to see how she was so she assumed. It was more a chivalrous action than anything. "I'm fine, Ben, thank you."

Ben wasn't convinced, and Cross knew she wasn't fooling anybody. "You're thinking about your kids aren't you?"

Cross let out a gasp. Of course she had told her story before being accepted amongst their ranks Every detail from the abandonment by her owner, then the act she committed.

"Ben?" She turned back to him and he looked right back. "Promise me you'll never mention that again." Weakness couldn't be shown, Cross fought hard to keep the tears at bay.

"I promise." Ben immediately said.

A smile played upon Cross's muzzle. It was easier not to think about them. Every time it brought her nothing but heartache. There was no choice.

"It's better this way." That was her mantra.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Drip! Drip! Drip!" In tiny drops it fell. Speckled against his lips he lapped it up. So far, he had been doing this for two days. So much crimson, so much blood. It splattered against his black fur staining it, yet he didn't care. Whimpering he lapped again till he was sated._

XXX

Mayu walked through the tunnels as quickly as her little legs could carry her. She wasn't running but instead just quickly walking.

"Sis wait up!" Her brother called behind her. Mao, as he was now known.

She didn't, only increasing her brisk pace. They were alone in the tunnels that comprised the underground lair. Were they hiding? Or were they off with their own business? Who knew that had only been here for a short time. The moment they ingested that blood, they were thrown into another room by some guard dogs. To their surprise, it was full of puppies. Some were around their own age while a few ones were older by some months. Various breeds and types they were. Some were normal looking while others held the same deformed features as the adults.

"Wait!" Mao whined.

At last she stopped. "Alright, just shut up you baby!" Mayu spat. Her brother stopped. He had never been so affected by his sibling's words. Usually their mother would scold upon name-calling. Now, however, a small wince of hurt appeared on his face. Not wanting to seem as such, as he was called, he ignored the emotional hurt.

"I'm not sure where the exit is but we should stick together." Said Mao.

Mayu turned her back looking surprised at her brother's words. "I wasn't trying to leave.

Surprise found its way to Mao unbelieving of what he just heard. "But what about Mom?"

Nothing followed in response. Words were in her mind but the young puppy saved them for later. Mao had more to say.

"We can't stay here Sis! Mom could be looking for us. What if she comes home and were not there she'll be so worried!" Mao said matching what he imagined his own mother would go through.

Slowly Mayu shook her head. "Mom's not coming back."

"How can you say that?"

"Think about it!" Mayu suddenly shouted. "Mom always came back with Sawada, she's dead alright and she's never coming back!"

Mayu heaved in her breaths. Mao's heaved as well. Morel like shaking as his eyes started to glisten. His jaw quivered lowering agape. A sniff came from the puppy as tears started to drip from his face. There wasn't a small ounce of guilt at making her brother cry. Yet she felt something even if she didn't show it. Her mouth started to move opening just like her brothers.

"Hey you two!"

The pups shook in startled fright at the young voice. Behind from the darkness they had left a dog stepped out. At first they didn't notice him as his fur matched the darkness that surrounded them. He was a young dog possibly a year or even just a few months shy of that age. His ears were long at first making the pair believe he was a saluki like them. Then they realized the face was long like a borzoi's. The one glaring detail that stood out was the eyes; the pupils held the same glow as the rest of the dogs only they were crimson red.

"I've been looking for you two!" The dog said in a deep voice but still retaining youthfulness. "Alright just come on back with me otherwise I'll get in trouble." The dog said. Mayu and Mao had seen him before back with the other puppies. Several dogs around his age were about the only "adults" present. It was assumed they were supposed to keep watch over them and the other puppies.

Mayu looked up at the older dog with full resistance in her eyes. Mao, on the other hand, had had enough. Unlike his sister he wasn't confrontational. The small male immediately started to bawl. Mayu wasn't surprised in the least sometimes her brother could be such a baby that it was embarrassing. She fully expected the other dog to harshly threaten them against this.

"Hey kid calm down." Said the dog. Mao didn't do so crying only louder. The black dog moved in. Mayu growled ready to fight if she needed to. Sure, she was scared but someone had to be the brave one.

Just when she was about to pounce, she noticed something. The black dog put a comforting paw upon Mao's head. "Just calm down. It's okay." He soothed.

Mao stopped hiccupping a few times. It was almost akin to the way their mother reassured them. That must have been the reason Mao calmed down. For the first time in a while somebody showed the comfort. Strange it was coming from one of these dogs.

"You two are new aren't you?" Both siblings nodded at the question. "Thought so." The dog smiled. "I was the same way but you shouldn't show fear around here. Libel to get yourselves killed. Especially with the nut job Drake." Despite the almost off-putting color of the eyes, there was kindness.

"Did they name you?" He asked.

Mao stuttered a bit, he hadn't grown used to the whole naming aspect. "Well we." He begun.

"I'm Mayu, This is my brother Mao." Mayu spoke up for her sibling.

The dog mouthed the names seemingly trying to understand the fitting of such titles. "Okay then." He accepted. "Call me Alucard."

"Alucard?" Mao repeated."

"What kind of name is that?" Said Mayu. To her that sounded odder than the ones they were bestowed.

Alucard chuckled and rubbed his paw against Mayu's head. "Bold one aren't you." Mayu growled a little. "Well come on you two if we don't hurry up it will be all our asses. Trust me today is the easy day tomorrow they'll more than likely assign you a teacher." Said Alucard.

"Teacher?" Both siblings repeated. No more was said as Alucard started to walk disappearing into the shadows. Far off they could make out the glow of his eyes. With nothing else, to do the siblings followed. Mayu bounded off first. Mao looked back with hesitance. Reservation he still held but he didn't' want to be left alone.

"I'm sorry Mom." He apologized before running off.

XXX

The puppy den, that was exactly as Alucard described it, and that was how the two puppies viewed it. Nothing but puppies played about their floors. Mutts, half-breeds, that fitted them perfectly as they came in various shades.

Play maybe as not the right word to use. Fighting seemed more appropriate. That was what turned Mayu and Mao off initially. Sure, the siblings play fought at times but these pups appeared to be brawling. It wasn't a very good impression, they never had seen other puppies before, only within their family. Oh how they wished for dogs of their own age, it would have made waiting for their mother far easier if they had somebody to keep them company.

Mao kept close to his sister as he saw two males bite down on each other's necks. Mayu stepped a few inches away not liking the closeness. However, she too flinched as she saw two females claw at each other. Despite that, they all appeared to be enjoying it.

Alucard had kept close throughout the entire way. Mayu didn't quite trust him just yet. Mao on the other hand went to him the moment he saw his sister wasn't going to offer any comfort. Mayu did have to give him credit, any time they had run into some adults in the tunnels, Alucard claimed "I got careless and these two got away." Apparently, they bought it.

"Well here we are." Alucard announced. "Now you two stay here okay?"

"Okay!" Mao obediently piped.

Mayu didn't say anything except for a tiny little scoff. Mao always tried to be a little pet to any adult he met, at least from his sisters view. That and between the two of them, Mayu always found herself on the receiving end of a scold. The pair worked their way through the puppy glom. With the large amount of dogs it had been easy to slip out. that would prove difficult as Alucard again followed them.

"We can walk ourselves." Said Mayu.

Alucard's gaze greeted her. The redness shone, needless to say Mayu was more than a little creeped out. "Just walking in the same general direction." Alucard grinned.

"Hey Alucard!"

Amidst the puppy crowd, several older dogs, probably other "puppysitters" like himself. Like the majority of the little ones, they were mostly mutts of varying fur patterns. The one who spoke looked like a mastiff, broad shouldered and strong looking overall.

"Where the hell were you!" The teen asked hotly. "I ain't taking the fall if you skip out on duties!"

Alucard raised up his paw. "Relax, Mako, I was just getting these two back."

The dog known as Mako glared down at the two pups. Like the rest he held the same glowing eyes. It was apparently a common trait yet his were the standard yellow. Alucard oddly held the only distinct difference.

"Oh yeah these must be the new runts I heard about." Mako grinned at the pair. It was just the same as Drake had given them. "You guys must be outsiders- what's wrong? Lost your mommy?" Mako snickered, the other dogs did likewise.

Hearing the word "mommy" brought on another sniffle from Mao. More than likely tears would follow. The older dogs snickered even more. Mao tried to force back his tears, yet he was having a rather large amount of trouble. Mayu looked over at her brother then to the older dogs. For the first time in a while Mayu felt something. Although Mao could be a baby once in a while, nobody made her brother cry, at least strangers.

"Leave my brother alone!" She snapped at the older dog.

Mako scoffed at the small puppy's boldness. "Or what little bitch?" Mako gruffly responded.

This provoked a growl from Mayu. Mako and his gang recoiled in mock fear, laughing even louder. In turn, Mayu's growls increased in tone and pitch. Right now she felt nothing but hate, both towards the way they treated her brother, but more than so the bitch comment. Nobody called her a BITCH! Technical term or not. Throwing away her rational, smart side, Mayu did the only thing that came to mind.

"Wait don't!" Alucard warned but it was too late.

Mayu opened her teeth and dove forward. Mao stopped his sniffling for a second as he noticed the strange site. His sister was defending him? Funny how she always chided at him for being so weak willed. Or a baby as she put it.

"OWWWWW!" Was the next thing that came out of Mako's mouth. "GET HER OFF ME! GET THIS LITTLE RUNT OFF ME!" Mako screamed trying his best to fling the small puppy off.

It wasn't working for Mayu clamped tightly. Not the sharpest teeth as she wasn't fully grown, but apparently it was hard enough.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THREE STANDING THERE FOR! GET HER OFF ME!"

Mako's gang looked dumbfounded on what to do. They watched as their leader did his best to get Mau off his leg. It wasn't working no matter how hard he flung. In his panicked mind, he took his paw attempting to push her off. Several times, he tried until she finally gave way. Mayu fell to the floor quickly rolling back on her feet.

Mako whimpered as he tried to sooth his sore flesh. A visible red bite mark stood out amongst his fur. Mayu spat out whatever fur mixed in with her saliva. Suddenly she heard a heavy breathing. Looking up from her paws, she saw a rather angry looking Mako.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Some of the other puppies chanted. Their attention shifted ot the little squabble in the den.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR FRICKING HEAD OFF!" Mako growled, exploding in rage.

Thick rows of sharp teeth revealed underneath his muzzle. The sharp white points swam in the drool that flowed. Mayu was at a sudden shock. Uncertainty crossed her mind as fear returned to her. She had thought that puppies never died in stories, but now she didn't really believe in fairy tales anymore. The real world was harsh and dangerous and it came down on her. Mayu closed her eyes expecting her end. Yet it didn't come. For a brief moment, Mayu had closed her eyes. Opening them, she saw Mako's enraged face now held a different emotion.

Stunned the burly dog looked. A thick set of teeth had clamped down upon his shoulder The teeth in question belonged to Alucard. Mako gave little gasps as Alucard clamped down harder.

"_Slurp!_" The sound was short, coming and going.

"_Slurp!_" It came again. Mayu looked closely as blood trickled down from the wound.

Alucard moved his head back slightly then forward. The sound came a third time as a long pink rope darted out before retreating. The crimson-eyed canine retracted back, blood all around his mouth. Now it dawned on her, he was drinking the blood. Mako stepped backwards fearfully. His former angered front shattered away into a million pieces. Opening his mouth, he only muttered a disgruntled "freak!"

Subverted giggles chattered amongst the puppy crowds and from a few of Mako's gang. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STARING AT!" Mako screamed sending the crowd back to their own business. The foursome gang stepped back into one of the dens corner. Their leader licked his wounds literally.

Mayu opened her mouth as well. Words wanted to leap out, to ascertain what had just happened. Alucard licked his lips sighing satisfactorily at the taste.

"You're welcome." He said before retreating off into his own corner.

Should she have thanked him? The pup wondered. Mao who had remained silent kept so. Like his sister he felt he should have thanked. Nothing more was said, the two spent their first night with the Clan, their new home and family disturbingly enough. Huddling close to each other, they managed to make it through the night. It was hard at first for the feared Mako would come and get them, or worse Drake. Neither of them did for unbeknownst to the pair, Alucard kept watch.

XXX

Pups. Always squabbling, whining, and throwing themselves around. They were never quiet, they were never still. And that was what enraged Lazarus the most. Why? Why could they be never still? The thought of another day teaching the little appalling brats in the puppy den made him just angry thinking about it. Lazarus scratched his head, aiming at eliminating a particularly bothersome flea with his dull claws. Being a Border Collie had a humungous downside: with your long fur, it was like a parasitic paradise. Still, it usually meant you were born with usually high intellect and at least a small portion of charisma. Both were something Lazarus had in heaps, though the charisma was definitely his strong point. Still, he mused, having charisma meant you also had to have the intellect to apply it to your superiors to get anywhere.

"Despite my current run of bad luck, I've certainly gotten somewhere."

From an extremely young age, Lazarus had realized that his future as an average Border Collie was destined for a flat-out boring failure. Though his brothers and sisters had been seekers of human homes and gathering an abundance of friends, Lazarus had preferred to seek out pawns rather than owners or cohorts. While others were busy being love struck and attempting to woo unfamiliar females, the idea of a mate had seemed to be a combination of being preposterous and dangerous to Lazarus. Some dogs didn't take mates simply because they weren't interested in having them; others didn't take any because none of them had fit their personality. None of those reasons counted for Lazarus.

Having a mate meant the possibility that you could have puppies some day- and they could easily overthrow you once you had aged. If the female you chose to mate with was sterile, then, if she wasn't a stupid broad, she could undermine you like a mole going underground. Having a mate more devious than you could lead to many issues. Still, having one that was stupider than you to prevent this happening could lead to a hostage situation, or a tangle in your web of plans. Which was precisely the reason Lazarus didn't have one. He scratched his short silky ears once more, then turned and began to flea his shoulder with a small clipping motion of his teeth. Yet Lazarus still had two daughters, both in the clan with him. His spies.

He smacked his tongue against his lips to rid himself of the strands of hair that had stuck to the inside of his mouth. For un-neutered dogs, having sexual attraction to females was something completely inevitable. A good bit of them just simply repressed the natural urge to mate, especially when the female in question was a mate of their companion. However, the urge to pass genetics onto the future generation occasionally stirred, nudging their bodies. For the most part, the male would just shove the urge back down mentally without thinking about it and just dismiss it as a daydream. For younger males, the problem was much bigger.

A good bit of them were ruled over by their hormones, which drove them to things that they usually wouldn't. The things in question were always very stupid. Though Lazarus hated to admit it, he had also once been at the much younger age where hormones reigned supreme. He was now a year or two older than that point, but that still hadn't prevented his one enormous mistake at that age. Lazarus had been very insulated from other females in his hormonal age. He had a nearly entire male brood of brothers.

Nearly.

He had had one sister.

One.

_One._

The only female in the entire valley.

She had been a dithering woman, though she'd had a very supple and healthy body.

She'd proved her dithering stupidity when she'd still trusted her scheming brother, even whenthe raging hormones had been ridiculously obvious, and the seed of insanity and mental instability had already been planted into his mind. She'd innocently followed him into the barn, though he'd picked a time when all of his brothers had exited the valley on numerous errands. Afterwards, he'd forced her to keep silent about the event. But eight weeks later, the event had been impossible to hide. His sister had given birth to two healthy- yet inbred- female puppies. She'd died shortly after they became weaned. Lazarus wasn't sad at all. She'd simply been a tool- and the puppies that she'd given birth to could also be valuable tools.

Lazarus had left the village a single father, two female puppies in tow.

Both of them were now his pawns and spies in the group. Lazarus had recently discovered the cult group after a few months of wondering. The opportunity had sprang out at him like a rabbit from a bush. Power, positions, a feared reputation….. All could be his, just for a little bit of sucking-up and some blood. The ceremony had gone over completely smooth- and now, here Lazarus was, basking in his own brilliance of manipulation. Well, mostly basking.

Lazarus ground his teeth together momentarily, feeling some frustration about the position he was currently in. Pup trainer. HA! He himself only felt miniscule feelings of affection toward his own daughters, never an entire group of precocious rag-tag rats. If possible, he would manipulate them into the point of fighting each other till they were too exhausted to make any trouble. Lazarus licked his paw, adjusting the fur. Now who would be a useful pawn in this game…? A brief memory floated to the top of Lazarus's mind: a pair of glowing, red eyes and a snaky, pink tongue….

Both a mental and physical grin worked their ways onto Lazarus's face and mind. An abstinence of blood often made people and dogs alike very tired. He should know. Tasty blood. Slippery-

Lazarus shook his head, ridding himself of such crude thoughts. He knew how much blood someone had to lose to be unconscious, but he often over-did it. He would need someone who was able to carry out his subtle little plan carefully, and with no blood-lusting…..ah…. hang-ups.

A body meant proof, and Lazarus didn't intend to give anyone a body. At least, unless they requested it. Doing favors and working yourself into a suitable position to blackmail other dogs was necessary to survive, certainly when it came to playing mind-games with Cain. If Lazarus was going to usurp someone, he might as well aim high and do it in style. Cain had already asked for a few little favors from the oily Border Collie, and he'd received them with much lace trimming of words and little hints. How it may effect him if wind of this got out, some of the… _difficulties _that had presented themselves while he'd been trying to complete this. All slipped in between the treacherous dog's honeyed tones. If Cain had the mannerisms of a snake, then Lazarus had the voice. And he intended to put it to much, much better use then Cain ever would.

Lazarus paused, then readjusted himself. He gave a soft bark. In a few moments, a young female Border Collie had ran up to him. One of his daughters.

"Yes, Dad?"

Lazarus coolly observed her, continuing to flea and other wise groom himself to perfection. "I have a new game beginning. Are there any new pawns to be found…?"

The daughter thought for a moment. There had recently been two new recruits, ones who didn't know of her father's brutal nature. They had both seemed naïve and inexperienced, though tough enough to be useful tools….

"Yes, Dad. I think I know some pawns you could use…."


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came quickly for the siblings. Just as they had closed their eyes, they felt the murmur of the other puppies. Most of their awakenings were not very pleasant as the older dogs roused them forcefully. Mako was the most aggressive, more than likely attributed to the humiliation he suffered the previous day. Alucard was strangely absent, that or Mayu wasn't looking for him. Mao was the one who noted his absence. Personally Mayu wanted the dog as far away from her as possible.

To Mayu, "freak" properly summed up her opinion of him, that and all of the other dogs whom she had seen in this little "family". Every one of them were herded together, a large puppy river so to speak.

"Where are they taking us sis?" Asked Mao who nervously looked from side to side.

"How should I know?" Was Mayu's response. To her it was a stupid question, but she didn't say that to her brother, she had enough of his crying. At turn in the path the puppy group split into two, following that, the group the twins were in split once more along another path. Each time an elder dog would split with each group, leading them in, finally the stopped, stepping into another chamber. None of the rooms were up for much description seeing as they were of the same rock walled covering. Looking around, Mayu counted about ten other puppies not counting herself and Mao. Chattering echoes amongst the groups, some escalating into play fighting. Mao squirmed closer to his sister not wanting to partake. Normally Mayu would have protested such an action but she felt like her brother needed a break.

They both had been through a lot, what with loosing their mother and being recruited by monster dogs.

"Alright everyone, settle down." A smooth voice spoke through a dark opening.

Surprisingly all of the pups did so. Mayu and Mao weren't making any noise in the first place so the silence fit them. A light colored shape began to color the surrounding darkness. It was a dog of course, the one in question held long flowing fur, dirty blond in color. A Border Collie he was. Unlike the rest of the dogs they had seen of the clan, this one seemed normal for the most part, no sunken ribs, and no circles around the yes. Speaking of the eyes there was something. Around his left there was a golden ring of fur around it. The entrapped eye was glossed over like his was blind, where as the other eye looked healthy.

The Border Collie smiled pleased at the attention given to himself. Behind him, Mayu noticed two younger Border Collies, females trailed behind him. They looked about Alucards age or maybe just slightly older. The both of them were females, she could just tell that. Unlike the older dog, they held the dark circles that seemed common amongst the Clan.

"Well good morning class." The Border Collie greeted.

"Good Morning instructor Lazarus." The puppies chorused in unison. Mayu and Mao were a little surprised so they said nothing as they looked about in confusion.

Again Lazarus seemed pleased at the obedient attention. Something else Mayu noticed and her brother did as well. Some of the puppies were shaking, just slightly but they could smell it, some kind of fear permeating the air.

"What's with them?" Mayu whispered to Mao.

"Shhh!" Mao hissed. "You'll get us in trouble."

Both puppies felt a shadow loom over them, looking up they could see Lazarus looming above them. His very presence made them both silence. They couldn't understand why yet there was something that made them. Truthfully it was more on Mao who kept still, Mayu still held some reservations. Lazarus kept his glare toward the twins, even as he spoke.

"Well now that you are all here we can begin the lesson." Lazarus started. "But first we must recite the Clan Oath."

The other puppies held their heads up with pride save for the two siblings. Lazarus held his head up in the same manner as did the two younger females. However there was some sort of oiliness to it.

"With our blood we are united." They all chorused. Mao looked frantically around trying to mouth and follow the words. Mayu didn't partake. Sometimes she felt that Mao was too obedient for her own good. Apparently Lazarus noticed. She could feel his eye on them both. The oath continued, much of it Mayu drifted in an out of attention but she caught the ending.

"We shall take the surface world back and build our paradise."

Lazarus's gaze became more apparent as the oath finished. In Mao's panicked turns, he panted nervously as the elder dog bored through him.

"For today's lesson I believe we should go over the basics." Said Lazarus.

This brought on some disappointed grumbles from the other puppies. Those grumbles were silenced as Lazarus sent another teacher glare.

"Now, now, if one is to properly serve the clan, one must understand the fundamental basics." Lazarus eyed the students before him. So many looked capable but his eyes fell upon one. Fro a moment he glanced back to one of the young females flanking him. Looking at herm she gave an affirmative nod.

"You there!"

Mao looked up as he knew the adult was mentioning. "M-me?" Was his response.

Lazarus nodded and motioned for Mao to come forward. Obedient as always, Mao scampered to attention. Lazarus motioned for another random puppy to come forward.

"Now both of you get into position." Lazarus ordered.

Mao didn't understand what that meant. Yet the other puppy walked a few feet away from him. Mao almost did the same but was stopped by Lazarus's paw. This further confused, even more so when Lazarus looked to the other puppy and said.

"Demonstrate the basics to the class."

Now it made sense. Mao understood that as the puppy pounced on him.

"Catching your opponent off guard is one such basic." The puppy pinned Mao to the ground, his teeth just inches way from his neck. Mao whimpered as he felt the tiny breaths against him. He could feel the start of tears coming on. Then the feeling vanished as the puppy released him. The moment he got up, he looked for a way out. That wasn't so as the puppy cornered him.

"Blocking off your opponents entry is another tactic." A smirk crossed the Collie's face. "Particularly if said opponent is panicked."

That directly applied to Mao, every time he moved, the other puppy would block him. Then in that moment Mao felt the pain of sharp teeth against his said, sharp puppy teeth that is. Mao let out a cry as he felt the burning. He cried, he whimpered, he wanted the pain to end. Then it did. A loud whelp gave out as Mayu once again sprang to her brother's rescue.

"What is the meaning of this!" Lazarus exclaimed. "Get back in your place brat!"

Mayu defiantly looked up at the adult. "NO! Shut your face you stupid over pompous jerk!"

Gasps followed by a hush fell over the other puppies. Mayu didn't pay any attention to them, all hers was on Lazarus. Lazarus's glossed eye twitched. He looked about ready to burst, yet he didn't. Instead, a smile fell upon his face.

"You and him are the new ones I take it?"

"Y-yes sir." Mao piped, hoping some respect would give them some leniency.

A chuckle came up from Lazarus. Mayu's defiant stare faded as something fast pinned her to the ground. Managing to look up, Mayu could see it was one of the younger Border Collie females.

"Thank you Julia." Thanked Lazarus. "Maria could you fetch my tool?" He asked to the other female.

"Yes Dad." Said the female before leaving down the tunnels.

"Dad?" Mayu repeated. She assumed it was the same for the other female. They both appeared to be twins.

Lazarus clicked his teeth, a "tsk". "I can imagine in your home, such disrespect was acceptable." Lazarus began. "The humans probably coddled and petted you, displaying the finest forms of affection."

Mayu scoffed, obviously he didn't know their situation or their home life. "Or I could be wrong." Maybe not. "Yet in the Clan such disrespect garners punishment." Out of the back, the female returned carrying a long stick in her mouth. It limped in her mouth giving off a light shine. It wasn't wooden, it was metal. He puppy class stepped back in fear as the tool neared. Stained at its tip was blood, dried blood.

Mayu was turned on her stomach and the female handed the meal tick to her father.

"I'll show you respect you little bitch!" Lazarus growled.

A swift of air sounded as the metal whipped against Mayu's bare back. The young female gave a sharp cry as the pain came again and again. Mao watched in horror as his sister was beaten. Red marks stained her white coat, running down like little rivers of pain. Above him, Mao could see Lazarus smiling at it all. Each scream sent a wave of pleasure down his spine. This went on for what seemed lie ka minute, and then he stopped leave a sobbing Mayu upon the ground.

"Sis!" Mao ran to his sister, for some reason Lazarus allowed it. This was all new to Mao, he had never seen his sister cry, even when she was hurt. Lazarus laughed condescendingly.

"Take note my students, this I what happens to those who disobey."

The class definitely took note, Mayu in particular. She let herself cry for the first time since coming to this awful place. Even as the lesson commenced and she kept quite like a good little girl, she still cried, but it wasn't just from the pain.

XXXXX

By the time their class let out, Mayu was nearly unconscious from blood loss. Lazarus had somehow managed to give them all a series of small exercises that involved using their back muscles and flexing them into different positions. Mayu's sobbing had come dangerous close to an entire break-down when he'd named stretch, after stretch, after stretch…..

Mao had cried with her, though he hadn't come above a hollow and broken whimper. Mayu couldn't blame him. After her beating, all the rest of the puppies had avoided them like they were ticks seeking blood. Mayu stumbled, almost falling.

"Mayu!" Yelping, Mao ran up to his nearly incapacitated sister.

"It burns…" she whined.

Mao clumsily pressed his head against his sister's neck, bracing himself and shoving her back on her feet. "Come on, Mayu, you can't lie here." He glanced around. The clearing outside the cave was barren and clear, with no places to hide or objects to support yourself on. Passing out here was like a direct red flag to Lazarus, giving him the go-ahead for another beating. And looking down at Mayu's torn and frail form, Mao was more than sure she couldn't take another one.

Mao looked around. There was no one to help him walk his sister back to the ca- he quickly shook his head. There was no one to help? Did he really need help for the majority of his life? For every. Single. Little. Thing? "No," Mao growled.

He shoved Mayu's shoulder forward while fitting half of his head under the side of her chest. Letting lose a small and pitiful yelp, she staggered forward. Mao's legs almost buckled under her weight pressing down on him. He had no idea his sibling weighed this much. Suddenly, the trip back to the puppy den seemed impossible to Mao. He'd have to support his sister the whole way there, her body leaning down on him.

"It's impossible…." he whispered.

"Wha….t… did you say?" Mao blinked. He hadn't realized Mayu was listening to him. "Nothing." he lied. "I was just talking to myself." Taking a deep breath, he started forward again. Mayu shoved down him, hardly walking on her own feet. They had barely made a few meters forward when Mao felt the need to rest. Gasping, he almost dropped Mayu on the ground. "Sorry."

"…..need a little help there?" Mao jumped up and whirled around, fur bristling in fear and surprise. Alucard sat impassively in front of a nearby rock. Mao hadn't even heard him coming.

"What do you want?" Mao felt his fear making him deflate in size.

"Calm down, Mao. I just want to help you out."

Mao whined. "Really…?" He started shaking. "You're not going to come after us like that… that… monster did, are you?"

Alucard slowly walked up to him. "No, I'm not." He bent down, sniffing Mayu's body. "But we need to get Mayu to the puppy den- otherwise, she might bleed to death."

Mao felt himself shaking. Warm liquid ran down his face- tears. He was crying again, now, of all places. "S-she might d-die?" A terrified whine hooked onto the end of his sentence. Mao suddenly felt himself imagining what would happen if Mayu died. It would be just him and Alucard, fighting day in and day out with that horrible Collie, and having to face everyone on his own. He could just see the jeering looks on their imaginary faces as they laughed at him before attacking, Alucard gone.

"Mao, calm down!" Alucard's sharp bark cut into his nightmarish day-dream.

Mao realized that he'd started sobbing and shaking like a leaf, and Alucard was looking at him with a face of major concern. Mayu lay draped over his back, looking like a mere husk of what she had once been. "O-o.k." Alucard nudged his shoulder with his nose. It felt cold and dry.

"Follow me, then. And be careful."

"Right." Mayu whispered.

XXXXX

A few minutes later, the two arrived at the puppy den. Aside from a jumble of sleeping puppies in one corner, the majority of the cave was chilly and empty. Alucard strolled in, his numb claws clicking on the stone floor. Mao trailed directly behind him, afraid to fall too far behind. They walked all the way into the back. A few stones lay scattered across the rough and budging end of the short cave, but not much else. Here was where Alucard carefully deposited Mayu, making sure to cushion her fall. Mao rushed forward.

"Is she dead?" he asked fearfully.

Mayu hadn't moved or said anything since Alucard had picked her up and carried her across the clearing. It seemed like she was sleeping, except for her nearly non-existent breathing.

Alucard bent down and softly sniffed her. "She's fine for now- just unconscious. But we need to stop the scabs from bleeding." He settled down on the floor, tucking one of his front feet under himself and stretching his back legs out. With a small sound, his odd long tongue slithered out of his mouth.

Mao shivered. "You're not going to suck her blood, are you?" Mao blurted out.

Alucard gave him a quick look. "Of course not. We need to stop some of the bleeding, however. So start licking." Alucard ran his lengthy tongue over Mayu's wounded back.

Mao watched him for a few moments, then hesitantly followed suit, laying down and beginning to lick his sister's wounds. For a little while, there was only silence. Thoughts slowly floated through his head. Why was Alucard helping him- them? How could he suck blood? And could they trust him? All of these questions were difficult to answer, but after a little bit of struggling, Mao managed to pick the least hardest question to answer.

How could Alucard suck blood? It had something to do with his unusual tongue, that was for sure, but why would he suck blood? Could he really suck it, or was he just lapping it up? Mao shook his head slightly in order to get rid of the newly developed questions. He would get nowhere if he tackled them all at once. Back to the root question. When they'd seen Alucard attack and drain blood from the aggressive Mako in the puppy den, he hadn't lapped the blood up. He had, for no better way to explain it, just slurped it up. It had looked like he was eating something slippery. Yet the motion appeared to be familiar, in a weird way….

Suddenly, it hit Mao what it reminded him of. On occasion, Sawada would head out to the store and buy noodles for lunch or dinner. After boiling the noodles and water in a pan, he'd pour some of the simmering food into a smaller bowl. Soon after, he'd eat them. But it was how he ate them that Mao remembered so vividly. With barely any coaching, the noodles would disappear into his mouth like a snake disappearing into a pipe. They were just- quite literally- sucked up. Alucard had used almost the same motion when he'd placed his snake-like tongue inside the wound on Mako. The blood had been channeled to flow down his tongue due to his sucking motions and shape of it. Mao wasn't sure whether to be happy or disgusted that he'd made this discovery.

But what about the other questions? Mao couldn't find the answer to either of them. No, that wasn't right. He did know the answer to one of them, however. Could they trust him? "Mao, you can stop licking now. We're done." Alucard's voice made Mao blink in surprise. He hadn't realized how hard he was concentrating on his questions. He stopped licking and looked down at his dormant sister.

"…..will…..will she live?"

Alucard moved his head, yawning to stretch his jaws. Tired, he dropped his head on top of his paws, shifting away from Mayu. "Yes. She'll live." Mao gave a yelp of happiness, pressing part of his muzzle in his sister's neck fur. He held it there for a moment before quickly pulling back, remembering that his sister hated to be comforted. However, no scolding came from her quiet form- only even, soft breathes.

Mao looked at Alucard. Alucard stared back. "Thank you," Mao said quietly. "For everything."

"No problem." Alucard coolly responded. Mao took a few short breathes, gathering his courage.

Finally, he was able to ask his question. "Why are you helping us?"

Alucard firmly looked at him. "You were….. are… in trouble."

Mao looked firmly back. "No one else helped us. They could all care less. Give me an answer. NOW. Please?" He added a begging please onto the end, scared that being too aggressive would lead to Alucard abandoning them. All Alucard did was look him, somewhat amused. A long pause of silence crept in between them. "Well?" Mao blurted. He quickly shut his mouth and withdrew a little bit when Alucard stuck his snaky tongue out.

"…..I don't know."

Mao blinked. "What?"

Alucard moved his head away, shutting his eyes. "I don't know exactly why I helped both of you. You cause lots of trouble…. But you're new here. I can't stand to see someone new get torn up."

"Why not? Mako didn't mind!"

"….Mako can never leave."

"And you can?" Mao felt excitement coursing through his veins. They could have a way ou-

"No. I can't." A look of frustration crossed Mao's face.

"Then WHY?"

"Both of you can."

Startled by his answer, Mao became quiet for a brief period of time.

"….you're saying we can both walk out of here?"

"Of course not. Still, neither of you have been….touched by the Grandmaster's influence. Nothing really ties you here. You still have a chance to be normal."

"Are you saying you want to be normal? Is that it, Alucard?"

There was no response.

Mao glanced over his sister's body. Alucard had his face turned away from both them, curled up tightly in a little ball. His breathing was so evened out, Mao couldn't tell if he was asleep or faking it. Could someone really fall asleep so fast? An awkward silence faded into a deep and silent one. Mao's curiosity deepened with the silence. He'd had two of his questions answered. There was only one left. Right now, he had to pick an answer for his question. Alucard himself couldn't give him the answer to this one. Mao mulled over the events in his mind- getting saved from Mako, being led around, and, finally, the recent saving of Mayu's life. After placing them all together, he compared them quietly for a while till he could think no more.

Alucard had done so much for them so early on in a place where strangers weren't welcomed. He'd virtually been their guardian angel, through he was no normal dog himself, and certainly not an angel by any standards! Still, he'd done something that not even their mother, whom they'd lived most of their extremely young life with, had done- he'd saved Mayu's life.

Maybe their mother had never had a chance to save them from a life endangering situation. Maybe one had never come along while she was watching them. But nevertheless, Alucard had saved them from one of those situations that they technically were in because of their mother in the first place! Mao knew their mother hadn't put them in such a horrible position willingly. It hadn't been her fault that she'd disappeared. But Alucard had been the one to rescue them.

Mao yawned, his small but toothy mouth opening and closing. He finally knew the answer to his question now. As he drifted off to sleep, he contently played the answer over in his head one last time:

Yes.

XXXXX

Lazarus groaned tiredly. It had been a long day. Puppies, so many puppies, and he himself had to teach them all. Why was it so tiring? Why did he have this luck? These questions brought on own beliefs. He had so much potential, much, much more. Yet he was resigned to these menial tasks. At his side, Maria and Julia, his daughters sat by his side. He hadn't given them any orders. Such attentive girls they were, the perfect tools. Indeed he did have some faint fondness for them but it was merely familial ties.

"Are you certain those two could be useful Maria?" Asked Lazarus.

Maria raised her head up to attention. She knew who her father was mentioned. He was always looking for new pawns, useful or expendable it didn't matter, but he had asked for the former.

"Maybe Dad, after all young minds are so easily moldable." Maria smirked as she recited the lesson her father taught her.

Julia gave a condescending scoff at her twin's words. "Frankly I disagree sister." Julia retorted. "That little one was such a wimp. You see how much she cried?" The female laughed. Obviously her father's traits didn't just end at looks.

"Well I think those two could very well serve Dad." Maria retorted.

At this point both the girls sprang up. Although sister bonded by twinship, they still had their occasional sibling squabble. Lazarus had dealt with it enough in the past. In fact often as they left the pair would argue, fighting over the mot trivial of matters. Lazarus found himself trapped in between each and every time. The same applied to the puppies during his earlier days of being teacher. However it met with the usual result.

"SHUT UP!" Lazarus snapped.

The two girls obeyed their parent. In the time their father and they had joined the clan, Lazarus had made his cruelty known. It was what the Grandmaster found useful in taming the little cherubs as she put it. Not wanting to incite any wrath, they kept quiet. Giving a pleased sigh, Lazarus delved deep into his own thoughts. Perhaps the female would show promise. There was till a margin of doubt but that only meant extra work on his part. The male on the other hand would come in line with ease. Yes all too much to plan, but he was a very patient dog. Soon he would move up and then everything would go his way.

But there was always Cane, the ever present force guarding the Grandmaster. The younger dog may have not been extremely high in rank, but as the Grandmasters adopted son he held a form of seniority. So many plan and to do, all that was needed was to bide and bide he would.

"Crawl through the ranks bit by bit. Till all are worms under your paws." Lazarus repeated that in his mind.

Two new worms had crawled their way down, and they would fall in line like the rest of the rabble.

XXXX

"_Are you saying you want to be normal? Is that it, Alucard?_"

Alucard replayed that question in his brain repeatedly. As if he could return to a normal life. That notion was a long gone prospect. Once he could have been considered normal. Not anymore, the Grandmaster's influence had tainted him. With his crimson eyes, human's hands would never pet him again for they were the color of death. Oh how he longed for such a feeling, particularly that one.

He missed her touch, the embrace of a young girl who bought him from the human's pet store, named him or at least his original name. She was gone, the puppy he once held was no more. Alucard could still feel her blood and that of her parents resting within his belly. By then it was lost to the process of digestion, but the feeling remained.

Then there was Mayu and Mao. These two had undergone the blood ceremony but they had yet to be touched. There was still a chance their innocence could be retained. Fighting back his tears of the past, he made a vow.

"Don't worry. I'll look out for both of you."

XXXXX

With a yelping sound, Mao skidded across the floor. "Again!" Mayu snarled. Grimacing, Mao pulled himself up on feet and lunged toward her for the second time that day.

Ever since Lazarus had humiliated and beat them in front of the class, the thirst for revenge had grown into both of the now larger puppies, Mayu especially. Though both of them had had no idea how to defend themselves and each other when they joined the clan and for a few days after that, they now certainly did. Alucard was coaching them in learning how to fight- the basic movements, attacking, defending, and, if needed, fleeing. Mao and Mayu hadn't made a sound when they heard the last one. Both of them had done quite a lot of fleeing ever since they'd arrived here, and they didn't want it to go on any longer. Both of them were nearly out of puppy stage- without knowing it, the time they'd spent at Sawada's and here at the clan had added up extremely fast. And fleeing outside the acceptable age of being a puppy was pure disgrace.

Mayu snapped at Mao's shoulder, causing him to drop back and heighten his guard.

Speaking of disgraces, Mayu had been ready to strangle another female puppy she'd seen a day ago. What was her name…? Oh, yes. Satsu. Or rather that was what her new name was. Satsu had originally just been an average clan puppy that went under the name of Ryn up until a few days ago, when a group of guards had suddenly taken her away to an insulated cave at the far end of camp. A few days later, a passing clan pup had heard a dull and dead voice singing sorts of praises to her. As soon as he'd informed the other puppies on the gossip line, they'd all found an excuse to pass near Satsu's cave. Sure enough, the piping speech that the first puppy had heard was being repeated constantly every day.

Mao attempted to head butt Mayu, ending up with her skidding a few inches.

By the time Satsu had revealed herself, her ego had nearly doubled in size, as well as her healthiness. She'd been receiving little treats and tidbits that the clan puppies could only dream of sniffing. Her fur was the proper shade of glossy healthiness, and her nose was wet and glistening, just like it should be. Her properness and new sense of authority had almost caused Mayu to puke. How could someone praise themselves every day and still not be a self obsessed wart? The answer was that you couldn't. Ryn- now dubbed Satsu- had been dripping and oozing with smugness.

"The Grandmaster has a plan for me. You'll soon see what it is." That was all Satsu had said, saying it multiple times and with all the same stuffy pride.

Mayu dodged in, countering Mao and nipping him. The two went over in a heap.

When one of the puppies had finally gotten the nerve to pin Satsu till she told them what she was talking about, she'd whispered: "Alright, I'll give you a hint. It has to do with souls. Now get offa me!"

This little quote had been spread all over the camp within a day. A strained question was being passed through all the adult clan members. "Was the Grandmaster finally ready…?" Mayu and Mao had no idea what they were talking about.

With a snarl of triumph, Mayu permanently pinned Mao. "I win again!"

Mao frowned. "No fair! I claim a rematch!"

"All right, then. But I'll win again." The two hopped up and resumed play fighting.

XXXXX

Above the rest. That was what she was. She'd been informed this so many times that it was practically embedded in her head. Satsu smirked slightly, closing her eyes and mouthing the speech that her clan guardians had repeated to her so many times. "You are a prodigy. You are above all the rest, placed- no, born- into a role much higher than them. You're the first chosen to hold on to the spirits of the Grandmaster. And you will be the last chosen for many years." Satsu yawned contentedly, finishing the last lines. How many times had they been spoken to her by that dull puppy with the splotched brown spots over his left eye? Countless times, so many that Satsu could not care to remember. Her old name. That was another thing Satsu didn't care to remember. It had been "Belina." A foreign name somewhat forcefully bestowed upon her by her mother and owner before she's ran away and been taken by the clan. The clan had given her another name: Ryn. Pronounced "Rine" it had been a sharp name, one which connected to the clan quite nicely. But then she'd had a shine taken to her by the Grandmaster- and now here she was, "Satsu" and in a higher position than ever.

Well, at least in what she assumed was a very high position. She'd tried asking the puppy who was summoned to speak to her, but he'd done was repeat her speech of greatness.

"You are a prodigy. You are all above the rest..."

Satsu had given up trying to talk to him after that. It was like talking to a living tape recorder- nothing new came out. Except this tape recorder had a tail and dull, non-moving eyes.

"Satsu!"

She blinked, sitting up. "Who's there? Go away! I'm tired!" she whined. Without any response that the dogs outside had heard her wishes, an old and whithered dog coolly strode inside. The Grandmaster.

"Arg...! A, uh, well, Grandmaster! I didn't know that was you outside!"

The Grandmaster looked her over. "How are things proceeding here? I hope you're doing fine, as I've ordered the lowers to look after you sufficiently."

Satsu blinked. Was black smoke coming out of the Grandmaster's mouth? "I'm doing gre-" Without warning, pain exploded in Satsu's stomach. Her eyes rolled back into her head as thoughts and memories that weren't hers enveloped her brain. Saliva splattered down her coat. Too late, Satsu realized that the small smoke she'd seen creeping out of the Grandmaster's mouth had slipped into hers. Except it was killing her. With one last gurgle, she hit the floor.

XXXXX

The Grandmaster observed the now dead body of Satsu. The "black smoke" that withdrew from Satsu's mouth returned to hers. The "smoke," in reality, was not smoke. It had been the Grandmaster's consciousness and part of soul. The Grandmaster sighed. It was such a pity that Satsu hadn't even been strong enough to hold a tiny fraction of her, though they'd trained her exceptionally for the job. Maybe she'd rushed things. Still, Satsu hadn't been a Grade A choice either. Time to bring in a replacement. The Grandmaster barked once. Two guards entered the room. Without saying anything, they lifted the cooling corpse of Satsu and left to bury her. The Grandmaster yawned, feeling the twinge of a headache. She always hated having to retract her soul from what could be a possible container- it always temporarily slowed down her mind for a few seconds. Thinking for a moment, she regained her train of thought. The next syllable to come after "a" was "e." With another bark, the guards brought in a new puppy. The Grandmaster bent down and sniffed her. "She appears to be healthy enough. Maybe less likely to break than the other one."

The puppy blinked, looking up. "Huh?"

The Grandmaster lifted her head. "Oh, nothing, my dear. Just an old female making an observation. Don't pay any attention to me right now- your name? Do you have a name?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Forget that name. You're now called Setsu. Welcome to your new den."

"But I-"

"Please quiet down, Setsu. Zakura over there will tell you what you need to know."

The Grandmaster gestured to a dog with brown splotches over its eyes. "Good bye, and don't hesitate to ask for help from the guards." Ancient bones creaking, the Grandmaster abruptly left the cave. Bewildered, the new Satsu- now named Setsu- turned to the dog in the corner. "Why am I here? Talk, please." The dog opened its mouth, dull and flat eyes not shifting.

"You are a prodigy..."


	5. Chapter 5

Cross had never felt this way before. It was rare for her and Ben to be alone like this but he enjoyed every minute of it. They were lovers, that was the truth. If nobody else figured it out they knew it. Were they mates? She wondered. Only mates could express this pure form of love. She hadn't asked him that question. She had already earned her place as a "male", It would seem unfitting for Ben to display his love for all to see. He was a soldier, a soldier that had to focus on his mission. She was as well. He needed rest for tomorrow but this pleasure was so intoxicating. Each time he entered she found herself lost in her thoughts.

This wasn't the first time she mated. The only other was with him, the father of her children. There was a difference. Back with him it had felt hollow. As was their emotions. She had thought he loved him but in the end he was simply doing his duty as she realized. Yet with Ben it was different, she could feel the love, it wasn't hollowed. Although she had drove herself to being a male, there were still the desires of a female.

Still the question of whether they were truly mates still rang in her head. Yet those were cast aside as the pleasure of ecstasy entered her. It was pleasurable to them both. In each of their lives they felt a connection, and it fit. It was as if they had waited their entire lives to meet each other. This was fate.

XXX

Mao watched nervously as the event unfolded. Sometimes his sister could allow her emotions to get the best of her. Often Mao found himself pegged the emotional one. Or a "whiny baby" as his sister put it. Yet Mayu had her fair share of emotions as well. It varied between them. For himself his ranged from distress. If something bad or frightening were to happen he would most definitely show it. For his sister it was anger. Whenever she got mad, Mayu had the bad habit was letting it control her. The morning had started out well enough. They awoke and then they ate. Now meals in the clan ranged from whatever the higher members could catch and insects. This place was riddled with insects. It had taken them a while but they grew used to it. Not that they had any favorites, food was food and it was nourishing enough. Of course there was the occasional mole and that served as meat.

Then Mako showed himself. Per usual his gang flanked them. Even after all this time, Mako had not let up. Any time he encountered Mao and Mayu, he took every opportunity to tease them. They were the usual childish taunts befitting a bully. Hi gang of course found them hilarious. In their private moments, Mayu found them stupid. Mao did as well. He wondered if Mako's gang were really friends with him? Or if they just hung around him for protection? That wasn't important, What was important was right now.

For victims, Mao found he was a prime target. He didn't know why but his emotionality may have been the reason. Mayu of course defended him. That was when Mako called her a bitch. Bitch was the technical term for a female but he didn't mean it that way.

"Oh look the little bitch think she's a male!" Mako chuckled. His gang followed in a less intelligent manner. They ate out of his paws. "They'll probably make her a breeder but she's probably so dried up, there's nothing but dust in there!"

It was a weak joke but it bothered Mayu. Mao could see her back hair rising up. Then she lunged.

"Sis!" Mao called. But it was too late.

They were no longer puppies. Well they were but they were not little puppies. It might have been months since they first arrived. There was no way to tell the time here. It had to have been a long time since they had grown substantially. Pre-teens may have been the best way to describe them. If comparable to anybody else, they matched Alucard in size and height. Yet Mako was still bigger being older. The older dog hadn't expected her to go for his shoulder. Seeing as she wasn't so small anymore, going for the leg wouldn't be so effective. It worked a Mako gave out a surprised yelp. Mayu hung on for a few minutes before letting go.

"She bit you Boss!" One of the other dogs called.

Mako glared angrily back. The wound had been hard enough to draw some blood. "I can see that idiot!" Mako bellowed.

Mayu gave a little snort. "The only idiot is you." That comment turned Mako's anger to the female. "I mean come on! Is that the best insult you got?" Mayu condescendingly looked away from Mako. " Of course dust would be in something dusty. You were better of saying dirty or something like that." Now Mayu may have seemed like she was demeaning herself and giving Mako smarter taunts, yet in actuality she was pointing out his uncreative idiocy. Thirdly he could had been trying to stroke his anger.

Again it worked. Mako charged forward, eager to kill. Killing may have seemed like a forbidden concept within the clan, but sometimes exceptions were held, particularly if stories could be maintained. Mako could have made up a simple lie. He had seniority and seeing as he was born within the Clan instead of being found outside, well it was self explanatory.

Mayu saw an opening. Stretching her back she leapt. Bonding her legs she went clear over Mako. For a moment he was dumbfounded by the female's nimbleness. Looking back she saw that Mayu was waving her tail. It dawned on him that she was mocking him. Looking behind her she could see some of his gang snickering to themselves. They stopped once they noticed their boss's glare. Rage blinding him once again, he charged. Stretching her back once more, Mayu looked as if she was about to prepare another leap. In fact Mako expected that. However she remained still.

"_What is she doing?_" Mao thought.

Mayu was just standing there waiting. Mako was nearing closer, Mayu continued to stand her ground. Seeing she wasn't doing anything, Mao nearly jumped in.

"YOU'RE DEAD BITCH!" Mako screamed. It was bad enough he was being made a fool of but by a female? That was too much.

Mayu found her chance. Lunging her body, the young female opened her mouth and grasped Mako's broad neck. With the propelled motion, he caused him to fall upon his back, pinning him upon the ground. Mao recognized the trick. Alucard had taught it to them. Other than Lazarus's lessons, Alucard proved a more patient and caring teacher. If it wasn't for him they wouldn't have survived the harsh lessons of the psychotic Border Collie. Mako kept very still as Mayu pressed harder upon his throat. Any more and she could kill him.

"Okay I give!" Mako pleased, but at the same time trying to maintain his tough front. Mayu complied. The Bull Mastiff returned to his minions before the rest of them slinked off.

"SHUT UP!" Mako roared, one of his followers gave a yelp. If anybody had to guess, one of them probably laughed at the fact that Mako lost to a girl.

Mayu grinned to herself. "Well I showed him didn't I?"

"Are you crazy!" Mao immediately said, interrupting his sister's happy mood. Putting his face to her's, he continued. "You could have been killed!" Sometimes the role of elder sibling switched. Honestly neither of them knew who was older, they were never told. Mao felt scolding was appropriate, yet he saw the mischievous glint his twins eyes.

"_Uh oh._"

Mayu put both paws upon her brother's chest and pinned him. Mao couldn't see how he could have missed it.

"I win again brother." Mau smiled.

Indeed she did. She always won the pinning game. It was one of the positive factors that kept them sane within the Clan. The other was a dog. In fact they were going to meet this particular dog if only Mako hadn't interrupted them.

"Well come on Alucard is waiting slowpoke!" Mayu cheered before running off.

Mao rose to his feet and followed after with a cry of "Wait up!"

XXXXX

Alucard blinked, attempting to clear his thoughts. It failed. Somewhat frustrated with himself, he scratched the base of his right ear with his back foot. Though it succeeded in abating the itch in his ear, it failed to help with his mental turmoil. Like a simple scratch would help with anything.

Things were shifting in the clan. Alucard could sense it. Like a powerful undercurrent in a river, the hints of change flowed at menacing and determined pace, hidden from the seemingly normal flow of clan life. Alucard had a feeling that this was a dangerous riptide in hiding, waiting to suck them down when they least expected it. Satsu had disappeared, being hurriedly replaced with another whom had been dubbed "Setsu," Cain was attending more meetings with the Grandmaster, hushed conversations were being held at the edges of clearings, and there had even been a rumor that the Grandmaster had been ready to switch containers. The thought sent shivers down Alucard's spine- by no means, a small feat. If the Grandmaster was ready to switch containers, then her demented plan for afterwards couldn't be far from blossoming. In fact, "blossoming" was one of the words she had used to describe it.

"When the time is right, and the clan has risen, then we shall blossom fully in our potential, and seize what will be in reach- control of the spirits, and a fate loftier than Futago Pass itself!" The entire listening audience had burst into howls of approval for her closing line of her speech. Alucard had missed the beginning and middle, but had arrived just in time to hear the closing line- and the enthusiasm of the group hearing it. Alucard wasn't sure of the finer details of the plan the Grandmaster had concocted, but he knew enough about the general idea. Soul switching was something only she could dabble in and get away with; particularly with such effective results if the plan went right.

Soul switching could give the Grandmaster the one chance to rebuild the clan.

Something Alucard could not see happen.

The clan _would _fall. If he had to, Alucard would make it happen with his own flesh and blood. This twisted piece of history and blood had lived for far too long. And Alucard had his own reasons for wanting to destroy it. His old home, his old owners, his old identity…. They all screamed for him to act and prevent the clan from going any further. Yet his new identity required for him to worship "his" clan, to praise "his" new owners and superiors. How could he combine both? If he behaved too meekly, then he wouldn't get his shoot at the clan; if he behaved too rebelliously then he would be killed by the entire clan at once. It was an awkward balancing act…. And Alucard knew what he'd have to do. He would have to hide his other intentions behind his new identity. Just like he'd been doing all this tim-

"Alucard! Get out here!" The sharp bark rang through the small den Alucard had been lying inside. As a result, Alucard almost cracked his head on the cave ceiling in surprise. His guard had gone down due to all his thinking in frustration. _Something I can't have happen again, _he thought.He emerged from the den smoothly, trying not to display the surprise he had shown moments ago. "Yes?"

An adult Setter stared down at him, furry ears dangling. From the slight chubbiness of his chest and hindquarters, he seemed more well fed than other clan members. More well fed meant more important. From the gist of things, Alucard guessed he was one of the higher up guards. "Alucard. An order from Cain." Alucard coolly pulled himself up. "And that would be?" The guard eyed him emotionlessly. "Move all the pups from the puppy den to the mouth chamber. Immediately." Alucard held back the surprise in his voice. "The mouth chamber?"

In the clan's cave habitat, there were a variety of chambers and rooms. All served their own purpose to help keep the clan from being crowded into one den and to group age and ranks together where they belonged. The mouth chamber was one of these. Located near the entrance- or mouth- of the cave, it was a medium sized cavern which expanded out to the side. It could have been a useful room, but they couldn't use it due to the fact that placing living quarters too close to the outside could attract attention of passing travelers or predators. It was too close to the outside for comfort. And yet a guard was ordering him to move all the puppies to that particular room. "See to it that these orders are followed by the end of today, or else." The dog turned around and began to head out of the tiny den.

"Why?" Alucard felt disbelief. This order had to be a sham. Such a ridiculous thing…! "Because," the guard remarked, turning around, "We are moving up. Literally." For once in his life, Alucard stared. "You don't mean-"

"Hello, outside."

XXXXX

Cross was feeling odd. She swore there was something wrong with her…. Something unbalanced inside. She had first felt the odd feeling a day ago. Unconscientiously, she'd taken to grooming her belly, something she usually didn't do. The thin layer of fur on her underside was washed out by any rivers she'd wade through, and constantly got dirty from her lying down wherever the Ohu Army made camp that night. She rarely had a clean body, never mind belly. So why was she grooming it? Cross paused for moment, then pressed the tip of her nose into her belly. She had a reason. It was just one she hadn't dared consider or face until now. She gave a mild snort of amusement. She'd had pups once, and no mate. When she'd gotten a mate, she'd had no pups- or at least, didn't expect to. But now she was going to have them…. And two things she hadn't thought possible to have at once in her life.

Cross didn't expect to feel a sudden nudge in her belly, or become more hungry. It was far too early for these things- thankfully. The Ohu Army needed her to be fit and lean right now, not fat and bulging from pregnancy. Cross knew she would eventually reach that stage, but it wouldn't be for a while. In fact, by the time she became noticeably round, their war with Akakabuto would be over, her revenge quest ended. And she would be able to raise her puppies with Ben. Cross softly licked her belly. Her puppies. The second ones she would have. Would she lose them like the first?

Cross sniffed her belly decidedly. No. She would not let go of her offspring this time. They would remain hers for as long as she was alive. And Cross intended to live for quite a while.

From now on, she would be fighting to keep her and her still developing pups alive.

And she had no intention of losing.


	6. Chapter 6

All the puppies were gathered. It was an order- or so they heard. Mayu and Mao quickly found themselves within the group. It had only been after lunch or what qualified as lunch in the Clan. The mush that Sawada gave them didn't seem so bad now. Down the passages they moved, side by side in two single files.

"What do you think is going on Sis?" Asked Mao. Although his sister had long accepted her name, to Mao she was nothing but "Sis".

"How should I know?" Mayu replied with a snap.

Mao winced slightly. She was cranky but that wasn't new. They hadn't enough time to eat before they were herded up. They didn't even protest for they knew the punishment. Mayu had plenty of back scars to prove it. Both twins stood on opposite sides of the lines. Better this way than behind each other. The pathway led to a medium sized opening, the cave mouth. This was the first time they had seen the cave mouth. The Clan had several exits to the outside. However, those were always guarded. One rule amongst puppies was they were forbidden outside. This applied to every pup, both outsiders and pure bloods. By pure bloods, that meant those who were born within the Clan via breeders. Although empty for the most part on a normal basis, it was filled to the brim with puppies. Male and female, Mayu and Mao found them all around their age.

"This is everyone from the puppy den." Mayu said to herself.

That was true, they recognized a few from their class. They had lived, slept, trained and fought with them as they aged from small puppies into pre adolescents. So many scents hit their noses. Ahead of the large murmuring group they could see the older kids. Both Mayu and Mao scowled as they caught sight of Mako and his gang. Yet close by was the distinct black shape of Alucard, and even at this distance his eyes gave off a glow. Mao nearly called out but he kept silent as his sister kept his mouth bound with her paw. The whole lot grew silent as a few adults entered. Drake, Lazarus and his daughters, and a few others they didn't really recognize that much. The former two they had dealt with them to leave etchings in their brains. Cain followed them lastly, and the figure behind him gained respect from everyone present. Everyone save for Mayu and Mao, whom only gave it so they wouldn't be killed on the spot.

"I am glad to see you are all present." The Grandmaster called out in her ancient voice.

The pups raised their heads up as if they were to howl. Mayu and Mao did as well, but, again, only so they wouldn't be killed. "HAIL GRANDMASTER!"

The female smiled proudly at the adoration. Such wonderful minds had been molded into tools and weapons that would die for their Grandmaster. However, she could smell something in the air. Two vocals of that praise felt synthetic. Her old ears began to sift through them, but there would be no time for that.

"My children! You embody the future of the Clan!" The Grandmaster called aloud, a creak worked its way into her voice. "Some of you were born with our halls, while others were foundlings we took under our wing." The Saluki pair couldn't forget they categorized under the latter.

"You have remained hidden underneath the earth since your induction. But now is the time of your graduation. No longer will you be viewed as puppies but soldiers." The Grandmaster spoke vibrantly.

Murmurs spread amongst the puppies. What could this mean? They were already being trained for battle since birth, so they couldn't understand what their leader was talking about. The Grandmaster gave a gesturing motion to Cain. The younger dog took to the front holding his chest out.

"Each of you will follow us to the surface in two orderly lines." Cain instructed.

"Outside!" Several of the puppies exclaimed. Murmurs commenced of an excitable feeling. They had never been outside in their entire lives. Mayu and Mao were exceptionally excited. They had missed the blue sky and the warm sun shining down on their fur.

"Shut up!" Cain cut.

All the puppies obeyed and without a word they followed after the adult dog. With more than eager paws, they felt a different feeling beneath them, soil. Sure there were occasional spots of soil within the walls and floor, but there was always dead dryness to it, yet this soil outside felt happy and alive. As they walked a Mayu and Mao dug their claws deep. They wanted to take it all in. A breeze brushed past their fur. Oh the wind it was so cold. Not the bad kind but the refreshing kind. Then there was the sunlight. Actually there was no sunlight. A thick canopy of trees overcast the sky. A few rays peeked through but not enough to get a full effect. For the longest time, pessimism had stewed within Mayu. She had accepted their current lifestyle, or rather accepted there was no way out of it. Mao still held onto hope. Now Mayu found some of that hope exchanging to herself. They were twins after all and twins could feel each other's empathy so they said.

Soon their walk came to a halt. They had stopped in a large clearing, large enough to fit everybody in. The Clan must have used this area in the past. From the way it looked it seemed a if a huge amount of sunlight could overflow. Yet there was none. Looking above they could see it. "Oohs" and "Ahs" were given as they could view the cloudy, endless blue. To some it was the first time they had ever seen it, while to a certain group it was like seeing a long forgotten friend. To Mayu and Mao it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.

The beauty then became a beast. There was a reason there was no sunlight, a cloud blocked it from view. As the wind blew its course, the cloud followed. What followed was what the puppies considered pure hell, more so than the pain that they had endured from punishments. This would qualify as a punishment. Being underground for so long had an inverse effect regarding sunlight. Their eyes had been used to the dimness of the dark. The rays hit their eyes. In moments they doubled in pain. Their eye's burned as if they were on fire. Their bodies felt weak and several collapsed to the ground. Whines of pain yipped out of the poor children. None felt it more than the Saluki pair.

"Good! Embrace that pain. Pain is the only thing that makes the body stronger!" The Grandmaster called. It was evident on her face that she was enjoying this. "Lazarus!" She snapped.

The Border Collie readied himself for attention. "Alright listen all of you!" He called. The puppies gazed up at him despite the pain they were in. Anything Lazarus dished out was worse than what the sun could do. "Now that you are facing a harsh element it's time to properly train your bodies. Now first position!" The puppies knew what he was talking about, even the ones who weren't under Lazarus's tutelage. Apparently Lazarus had been picked out of all the others of this little excursion. During the timeframe he had grown much in influence apparently despite being a fairly recent teacher compared to the others. They followed each exercise and movement with tired, pained groans. Slowly with each muscle flex they found their bodies growing used to the surroundings, slowly cut surely.

"Hey Mao." Mayu suddenly spoke in-between a stretch.

Mao blinked his eyes, trying to block out the sunlight. "What Sis?" He aid not able to shake of the nickname.

Mayu directed her head to a series of trees to their left. From the positioning and density, it looked like a good source of cover. "We can make a break for it over there."

"What!" Mao suddenly blurted before being shushed by his sister.

"Not so loud!" She hissed.

Mao lowered his ears at the scold.

"Look every body is too distracted and worn to notice us, so I say we take a chance."

"Yeah but!" Mao protested. His eye turned over to the black shape of Alucard. "But." He began to protest again.

Mayu growled once more in frustration. "Look there's no time to talk lets just get out of here before this ends."

Mao couldn't understand why his sibling was suddenly bringing this up. It had seemed she had accepted this lifestyle. However he didn't. Escape had popped into his head one too many times but there was nothing to be done about it. Each scenario was always brushed aside with fear. Yet his sister was right, there was an opening and it could be their only chance to take it. Seeing that she had gotten her brother with her, Mayu signaled for them both to keep low. Despite their vision blinking in and out, they were able to crouch low and manage to make it out of the group. It was by a mere chance they were able to escape into the trees and vanish from sight. They were free at last and freedom tasted good.

XXXXX

Something wasn't right. Alucard could feel it in the air. It was an honor that he was one of the elder kids chosen for the pups "weening". Only a few members his age were given the privilege. Not that he enjoyed watching the youngsters torture themselves with these movements, but he had no choice. If you refused something ordered from the Grandmaster herself…..well it didn't need to be aid. It brought on memories from his "weening". For some reason the sun had proven more so painful for his then recently, red tinted pupils.

They were missing. He could tell something was off during the maneuver drills.

"Damn those two." He whispered.

Why couldn't they have stayed put? Nobody escaped from the Clan. He had lived long enough to know that. Maybe nobody would notice. Unfortunately somebody did.

"Stop everything!" The Grandmaster commanded.

"Crap!" He thought. Did she notice his uneasiness?

The old dog sniffed the air before it finally dwelled to her whom was missing. An angry growl bellowed up from her. It didn't last as she regained her composure. A little voice inside told or rather ordered her to.

"Continue." She ordered Lazarus, noticing his slight hesitation in his orders.

Her attention turned to Drake.

"_God no not him!_" Alucard panicked.

"Drake it seems we have a few wandering sheep." Her eyes narrowed with suggestion. "Please be our shepherd."

A gleeful, sadistic smile appeared upon his face. His emotion distorted his formally uncaring expression. Watching these puppies was something entirely disinteresting to him. But this was an entirely different story.

"Consider it done Grandmaster." Drake bowed. With that said and done, he leapt off into the trees.

The rest of the maneuvers went on as if nothing happened. However in-between it, another sheep wandered off. There was a reason nobody escaped the Clan. Those that did always came back in a bloody heap. Alucard wouldn't let that happen again.

XXXXX

Mao and Mayu ran through the undergrowth, doing their best not to make any excess noise. Both felt as they were going to explode with excitement and nervousness. Mao swore he could feel his heart slamming into ribs repeatedly, and more adrenaline was pumping through Mayu's veins than any other time in her entire life.

The two rushed underneath several bushes, swerving slightly on the way out to avoid getting tangled in a bush of particularly vicious brambles. One caught Mayu's ear, but she didn't slow down and kept going. The wiry branch jerked out of her stringy ear, recoiling. Mao brushed past it more successfully than his sister.

Disbelief and hope were steadily growing in both of the young dogs. The more they ran and tore around low lying foliage and trees, the more the clarity of what they had just done revealed itself. They had ran away from the clan. A group of blood thirsty dogs determined to "fulfill their destinies." Which involved killing and fighting. And psychos like Drake and Lazarus. _Whom they had just run away from. _And no one had come after them- which was why their disbelief was enlarging every second. Every step was a step further from the clan. From those monsters. Their hope was overflowing. Mao and Mayu actually believed they managed to escape from the clan without any notice.

The two changed direction to avoid a fallen tree and its rotting- though sweeping- branches. As they sped past, Mao stepped in mud, leaving an imprint.

XXXXX

Drake eagerly trotted through the woods, sniffing leaves and bounding over small piles of compost. The forest was filled with life- the sound of birds and chattering squirrels cluttered the air, creating a busy atmosphere. At least, away from Drake. As soon as they caught wind of the murderous clan member's advances, all wildlife erupted. Squirrels screamed warnings to others in the area and crows cawed raucously, taking off after having released their notices. When Drake actually passed near them, all but the birds silenced, and even they perched in higher tree branches. No one wanted to be the animal stupid enough to catch his attention at this range. To do so would signal death. And Drake was fully aware of his impact.

He cheerfully smelled the ground, noting the small disturbances where the young dogs had stepped before continuing on. They hadn't bothered to conceal their tracks- maybe because they thought no one would come after them. Naïve brats, Drake thought. Passing by some bushes, he stopped to sniff a bramble pile. As the "Sheppard" of their little "flock" Drake was specialized in taking care of wayward "sheep." He grinned to himself wickedly. When he caught up with them, the Grandmaster had given him permission to discipline the two sheep. After all, if a few left the herd, then more would follow, wouldn't they? Troublesome sheep needed to be taken care of. And Drake was very fond of mutton.

He paused, his eyes locking onto a few strands of fur tangled in the bramble's longest stalk. The scent belonged to one of the puppies- if he wasn't mistaken, it was the female's fur. Drake licked his lips hungrily. It had been an eventful day. The only thing which could make it better would be a special dinner. And Drake had a feeling that he'd be finding one shortly.

XXXXX

Alucard cut through the bushes, running as fast as possible. Not bothering to keep silent, he easily burst through weak patches of low-laying vines and crunched fallen branches under his feet. Those two…! He thought furiously. What had compelled them to run off at a time like this? They should've realized that the clan's guard had been heightened since they'd brought all of the puppies outside, not lowered! At this point, anyone who'd ran away would be chased by Drake, devoured, and then have one of their severed limbs brought back as a demonstration. Not to mention the fact that the Grandmaster would find a way to turn the situation into her favor. Alucard sniffed the air, taking in the wind. An assortment of scents were clumped together in it. The forest, several animals, a faint whiff of human…

But Alucard was more focused on the three dog scents he had caught. The first, and by far the strongest: Drake. The second, and weaker one: Mao. And finally, the weakest and last smell: Mayu. Alucard grimaced. The situation was not good, but it could be far worse. Currently, the wind was blowing from the east to the west. Alucard was located to the west of Drake and far west of the twins. Being here meant he didn't have to be stealthy- the blowing air would make it much harder for Drake to hear him, and nearly impossible for him to hear him. The bad thing about being in this position is that he'd have to trail Drake and cut across behind him minutes after he'd passed in order to reach Mayu and Mao before he did. Cutting in front of Drake wouldn't work- he'd simply pick up Alucard's scent as well, and then it would be over for the three of them. Alucard was fully aware Drake would rearrange his plans to incorporate killing him if he caught his scent earlier than he needed to. Which was why timing was everything. Alucard ground his teeth together, forcing himself to run faster and turn to the northeast. This was going to be close.

XXXXX

Mao and Mayu were tiring out. They'd been running at full speed for nearly fifteen minutes, and it was taking a toll on them. Mao's saliva felt thick and congealed in his mouth. Mayu swore the back of her throat had been turned raw. And both of them were rapidly slowing down. Finally, it became too much. Mayu was the first to collapse, having been in the lead the entire time. She lay on the ground panting, chest heaving. Mao almost ran over her at her sudden stop. Tripping over his outstretched sister, he hit the ground with a yelp. Mayu was too tired to snap at him, though she gave a faint growl. Mao didn't care. As soon as he hit the ground, he scrambled away from his sister before falling back down. Gasping for air, he looked exactly like a four-legged fish out of water. The two simply lay on the soil, breathing hard and getting their bearings. They were pretty far from the clan now- maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a small rest…. 

XXXXX

Drake licked his lips hungrily as he walked through the forest. The smell of the two deserters was still strong on the ground- the two hadn't bothered with avoiding leafy plants or trees which they could rub on and leave their trail. They were truly uneducated idiots. Snorting, he pulled his head up from the ground. This was much too easy. Drake hoped that the deserters would at least taste good- then this wouldn't have been a waste of time. He leisurely padded over several broken branches and bent bushes. "I have a feeling those two are going to taste good…" Drake muttered to himself in a low tone. There was no one out here to hear him, so why not? Talking to oneself was far better than to hear the voices murmuring in your head whenever you were alone and hungry, and Drake was pretty sure the little partridges he was stalking wouldn't be able to hear him. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. The tasty little partridges were doomed, no matter what happened. He would have their meat. Drake grinned, giggling slightly. He couldn't wait to sink his fangs into their warm and chewy flesh, tugging, biting, and shaking till he could rip part of it away, dyeing his muzzle red with blood-

Drake burst into a run. He could no longer take the wait any more.

XXXXX

Alucard dashed up the remainder of the hill he'd just climbed over. Now starting to wheeze, he desperately raised his head and smelled the wind. The smells of Mayu and Mao were so close- but Drake's was as well! Alucard knew Drake hadn't found the twins- otherwise, he'd have heard it. The only problem was the fact that he hadn't found them either! Had his calculations to cut them off been wrong? He thought they'd have tired out by now, and their white fur should have been a beckon in this green woods. So where were they, goddamn it? Alucard desperately cocked his ears and flared his nostrils, waving his head around, trying to catch a signal, a scent, any scrap of sound-

He glimpsed a patch of white in the bushes.

And there was no doubt over whom it was.

Alucard put on one more spurt of speed and headed down the hill.

XXXXX

Mao and Mayu sat bolt upright and froze. They had heard a faint crackling and crunching in the undergrowth a few moments ago- from two different directions. The two had stilled, trying their best to stifle their breathing and hide in the leaves. For a few minutes, Mayu was sure they'd completely succeeded- till she heard another crunch come from next to them, near a close-by hill. Mao bit down to keep himself from yelping in surprise. _The clan… they didn't come after us, did they? _There was yet another rustle- only from a completely different direction. From behind them. Mayu felt her body stiffening. Suddenly, the sound of dogs flat out running and crashing through the undergrowth hit both of their ears. And all hell broke lose.

XXXXX

With the sound of a ruthless snarl, Drake lunged from out of the trees, body stretched like an arrow. There was a flash of brown- maybe red, Mao swore he saw red mixed in with it- and then another dog had slid into their vision, also snarling at the top of their lungs. The two collided, rolling over, snapping, tearing, and seeming to be on top of the runaways before they could move. Another furious round of barking and growling exploded into the air, and the two forms separated, stepping back from each other with hackles bristling and teeth exposed. Mayu and Mao practically threw themselves backwards to escape from the battle-eager pair, Mayu herself preparing for a fight to follow, and Mao trying to make sense of what had just happened. Staring at the two growling dogs, recognition snapped into place. He knew both of them. And so did Mayu.

"A-alucard….? Drake?" The latter name came out in a hiss. Mayu growled, her body vibrating. Drake ignored both, eyes fixated on the one who'd bothered to challenge him. And he was not happy.

"_You_….!" Slippery ropes of saliva dangled from his mouth, his eyes bulging in rage. "You worthless little shit! Interfering with my prey and my mission!" He moved a step to the side, as if he expected Alucard to start circling with him. Alucard didn't move.

"They were not your prey, Drake. They never were." He stared at Drake, mimicking his growl and stare. His bloody red eyes seemed even more unnatural in the daylight.

"It's not up to you to decide my prey or not, blood-sucking brat. I was assigned. And I _will _come away from this mission with their bodies!" He snapped his jaws once to emphasize his point. Mao had never seen such terrifying teeth.

"You were assigned to bring them back. Back, Drake, _back._ Alive. Not necessarily in one piece, but with all their vitals intact and limbs whole! Something you've neglected to do for missions in the past years…" Alucard brought a low hiss into his growl. "None of us are blind, Drake. We all know what you've been doing to those you're sentenced to retrieve. Breaking orders, taking flesh when you're not supposed to…. Do you know what your nickname in the camp is, Drake? Child Eater."

Drake menacingly ran his tongue over his canines, not taking his eyes from Alucard for a single sentence. "Since when has the clan became sniveling cowards not to tell me my second name into my face, _Life-sucker?_" He moved more towards the other side of Alucard. "If the clan has eyes and can see as much as you claim, then the Grandmaster herself surely is not left in the dark! Unless you can justify why she, knowing what became of the previous deserters, allows me the taste of young flesh. From your tone, young Alucard, you make it seem as if she disapproves. If she does, then why not stop me? Or are you saying that the almighty Grandmaster is blind?" Drake's tone became scornful and sarcastic in the last sentence.

Mao and Mayu realized that they'd been watching the confrontation stock still the entire time. Mayu blinked, feeling her fur still stuck in a permanently stiff and stuck-on-end state. The tension in the air made it impossible to relax. But now Mayu had finally been able to peel her eyes away from them. They needed to escape. To run. Maybe Alucard could keep Drake busy for a while- the way they were carrying on, it'd be a few minutes before the warring two noticed they were gone. Mayu swallowed her nervousness. Time to whisper her plan to her brother. Mayu turned her head. She'd been so focused on the war of words that she hadn't looked at Mao once the entire time. Now she did. The second she glimpsed him, all hope of escape crumbled. Mao was completely transfixed by the fight going on- to snap him out of it, she'd probably have to shake him and yell- something she couldn't afford to do now. Mayu could not leave Mao behind- sneaking off was not an option. All she could do now was hope that Alucard won the fight… and that they'd be able to take whatever the clan had in store for them.

Mayu turned her attention back to the fight. She looked just in time to see Drake finish saying a word. His mouth was turned down in mocking contempt as he finished it… and Alucard's reaction was something to see. His face lit up with fury and shock as he roared an accusation and insult back at Drake, snake-like tongue fluttering madly and blood red eyes lighting up in a new level of anger. "….AND DAMMIT, IT IS OUR DUTY TO TAKE THEM BACK! Unless you're willing to disobey orders from the Grandmaster, Drake? Hmm? Will you disobey some of her orders outright? Were you plotting to kill me and pass me off as a traitor? To break one of the clan rules for your own sick desires, you worthless cast-out!"

As a last measure, Alucard raised his head and tail higher than Drake's. Drake narrowed his eyes, now almost on the verge of attacking Alucard. Mayu had to grudgingly admit that that was one of the bravest and more insulting things Alucard had ever done. To raise your head and tail higher than someone you were threatening was the human equivalent of spitting in someone's face and rubbing it in or forcing them to lick your feet- it showed you considered yourself their master and placed yourself above them. For Alucard, a relatively young dog, to do this to Drake, an experienced killer and hunter, was the ultimate insult. And Mayu was sure that she'd just seen the end of it.

Drake stared at Alucard in disgust. He'd won the fight, and he knew it. But pride was something Drake didn't want to bend- especially for someone like _him_. But there was no choice. If he killed Alucard here and now, then there would be issues to explain to the clan- and things could go sour if the Grandmaster used her spirits to investigate the issue. There was only one way out. "…fine." Drake forced his words out with his much hate and loathing he could fit into them. "The two brats will be taken back to camp. Are ya happy now, you pompous piece of dung?"

Alucard responded in the same way. "Yes," he said coldly. He spun around to face Mao and Mayu. "Mao. Mayu. Come on." Even though the fight was over, Alucard's voice still remained rough. Mayu had been getting ready to put up a fight, but judging from his tone of voice, she had the feeling that doing so might push him over the edge. And after seeing what had happened to Mako and the fight he'd just finished with Drake, that would not be a wise idea.

"Right." Mayu kicked Mao in the shoulder. "Come on, Mao. Leaving time." She shot a warning glance at him. Mao didn't need to be reminded. He quickly scrambled over to Mayu.

"….OK."

With one last loathing look at the trio, Drake turned around and began to sprint back to the clan camp. Alucard followed after, eyes pinned on the former's back. Mao stuck to Mayu like glue. As they left the scene of the quarrel, Mao had one whispered question for his sister.

"Mayu?"

"Yea?"

"Why'd Alucard get so mad when Drake called him 'Walter'?"

XXXXX

Alucard escorted Mayu and Mao back to camp. Of course the two were punished for their little desertion. Nothing much, Lazarus simply gave them several lashes. To Mayu it wasn't anything unusual seeing as she had many to prove it upon her back. Mao on the other hand was a first. So far he had managed to be a good little boy and get by without any scars. Now he shared some pain with his sister, but she still held more. He supposed that demonstrated a clear difference in obedience. Even with their scars, they were forced to practice the maneuvers like everybody else, there were no favorites. Much they had learned and soon it was over. After that it was time to return. Many of the pups were given free time on what to do, very rare considering the living condition they were used to. They supposed it was a kind of reward, the last ounce of freedom before being inducted as full fledged soldiers. During this time Mayu and Mao decided to rest their tender backs. That is until Alucard came up to them.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." He said.

The Grandmasters permission was to be granted before such a thing could commence, but surprisingly the old dog allowed it. Perhaps it was because she trusted Alucard. He wouldn't run and she knew that.

Alucard led the pair through the forest, then stopped at a certain spot. It was a cliff and out looking it was the whole valley. That wasn't the sight no, it was the sun setting slowly over the horizon. Still not used to the sunlight after so long, Mayu and Mao were in slightly pained. It didn't last very long and to them it was a beautiful sight to behold.

"Wow!" Was their duel reactions.

Alucard had to smile. He supposed those two needed some form of joy after today.

"Alucard?" Mao suddenly asked.

"Yeah?" He asked.

Mao didn't' hesitate upon asking this. "Thanks for saving us."

Alucard was taken back a bit by the gratitude. Nobody had ever thanked him before. Gratitude in the Clan was generally unheard off, at least vocally expressing it. "You're welcome." Alucard didn't know how else to say it.

Mao wagged his tail as his appreciation was excepted. Mayu opened her mouth looking a bit hesitant at what she was going to say. It was against her lips but she wasn't sure if she should ask. Some might find it too personal but being the kind of girl she was, she essentially thought "_What the hell._"

"Why did Drake call you Walter?"

Alucard flinched slightly at the question. Maybe it was too personal? Mao shot his sister a chiding glance. This in turn provoked a "what?" look from her.

"Walter was my original name."

The answer came just like that. Mayu and Mao were surprised at the quickness of the response. Seeing that he indeed was open in his feelings, Mayu asked again. "How did-" she had begun but apparently Alucard could foresee what the female was about to ask.

"I was born in a pet shop, I never knew my parents, just my brothers and sisters." Alucard began, closing his eyes he thought back to those days. "Then she came, a little girl picked me out of all the others." A smile played upon his face. "Her name was Seres." The smile grew larger as the happy memories flooded back.

"She was kind, sweet, she loved me and I loved her." Slowly the smile started to fall. "One day she and her family were going on a trip, she begged her parents to take me with her. They did, the trip started off nice, we were hiking near the mountains." The mountains that surrounded the countryside may have been what he was referring to. "Then there was an accident." Alucard thought back, he saw the gleeful laughter of a little girl silenced as rocks fell from the heavens. Following that were screams and at last silence. "My human family didn't make it." Alucard replied sadly. "I was pinned under rocks were who knows how long."

"How did you survive?" Mao immediately asked.

Alucard could see the darkness, his whimpers as a puppy. By all means he should have died, but he didn't it, if not for a certain liquid that sustained him. Red crimson dripped down, the life of his owners sated him keeping him alive. God, he truly was the _Life-sucker_.

"Eventually some humans dug me out, but I was scared and ran away, then the Clan found me and well." The rest was history. Obviously he was found and inducted into their circle.

This was a vast difference in their homelife with Sawada. Even though he was inattentive to them, they at least had a home and food. Honestly had they known their life would have turned out this way, they would have stayed even with the loneliness of not having a mother around.

"You two remind me of myself." Alucard continued. "I knew Drake would kill you. Hell, everybody here is a sociopath. The Grandmaster's blood curses them, makes them ugly on the inside. Including me." Mao opened his mouth to protest. "Don't try to deny it!" He flashed them a look with his eyes. "You think any little girl would pet me now?" With those eyes and the blood sucking who would? "You two aren't like the others, you still have a chance to stay who you are." Alucard looked off into the sunset again. "Promise me you two won't become them. I've seen kids sweeter than you turn into savages."

Mayu and Mao didn't know what to say. Inside they made the promise and Alucard could feel that. Something inside the three had connected a bond. They didn't know what it was at first but quickly they understood. They were friends.

XXXXX

Cross couldn't help but stare at the three bundles of fur in front of her. So small, so warm…. One made a small whining noise before hungrily burying its tiny little muzzle into her belly and feeding. The other two followed suit, squirming and wriggling to get in closer. Cross gave a minuscule sound of approval in the back of her throat. Her puppies had to feed, after all. Dropping her eyelids shut, she laid her head down on the ground. Right before they totally closed, she noted that two of the pups were colored the same medium brown as Ben was, and only one held her white coat. No disappointment there- at least they'd been born healthy. She gave a sigh thinking about what had happened and what was going on.

The several past days had seemed like an impossibly warped dream. Cross could barely believe they'd taken place at all. To start things off, she'd returned with the Ohu Army to final fighting place with a good friend and savior of hers that she hadn't expected to ever see again. Oliver the Dachshund hadn't failed to surprise her by heading back to the camp with them. Such a cheery fellow, for someone who was about to get involved in war. And then Riki, the pack leader, had appeared in one of the most jaw dropping and amazing entrances Cross had ever seen. The war speech about eliminating Akakabuto he'd given nearly right after had made his arrival look dull as dirt. There had been one problem- Cross hadn't heard all of it. She'd doubled up in pain due to the fact that her delivery had started half way through the speech. Oliver had helped her to limp away elsewhere, where she was free to labor and gasp with pain in privacy- oh Oliver, he'd been so helpful to her- and after a long time of torment and harsh breathing, all her pups had been born.

Cross's body had been ready to drop straight off to sleep after the birthing business was all said and done with, but merciless maternal instincts that filled her mind only allowed her a half rest. She'd been feeling something she hadn't felt for so long- the urge to protect someone with every part of her body and mind. Let Akakabuto come. She would tear him to pieces for her children. Let Sniper come. She would twist his neck till he no longer breathed, for she now had something to protect at any cost.

Let Gin come.

She would look at him and say, "Sorry, Gin. This was almost you. Almost. But you're not a child any more, are you, Gin? Sorry. Sorry." Cross remembered her first pups. The ones she'd lost to vengeance and hate of Akakabuto. The ones who's scents had long faded from her nose. And the ones whom were the same age as Gin. "Grow leaders don't need protection from a fussy and overly worried female, do they, Gin? I forgot. I forgot. So please forgive me for treating you like a pup. _My_ pup."

Cross hadn't actually said to this to Gin. She'd been thinking of it as she lay exhausted from giving birth and Gin was off fighting the demon bear.

Cross almost said the same thing to Chibi that she'd wanted to say to Gin. But she didn't. After all, he was still a fragile one who needed protection. Her protection. So coddling him more for the time was not a bad thing.

Particularly when he and her pups was all she could protect on that day.

A few hours after she'd delivered and most of the army had left, Ben had came to see her- _them_. He'd come to see his family before he ran to join the others in the fight, despite the fact that the leader had wished him to do otherwise. At first, Cross had protested. This was her fight as well- despite her pups, why couldn't she come with him and fight? But her arguments had been futile. Ben had had his way and left for battle. Cross had cried like she was barely three months old. Her puppies had stared on in confusion. Tears were a new idea for them, but it was quite obvious something was wrong with their mother. Chibi had simply whined slightly, cocking back his ears.

Cross had eventually managed to clamp her jaw shut and end her crying, though a grim look had come over her face when she'd began hearing noises from the battlefield. Every time she had heard a bear roar, her fur had stood up on end. Akakabuto and his crew were not an easy pushover- many dogs WOULD die. Dogs Cross had come to know and trust- though she's also been aware that death was the eventual fate for every single one of them. As a soldier, death was something you expected to come with your duty. Your best hope would be to die snarling and fighting- at least you'd get respect from fellow soldiers at the end when they found your corpse. Ben had known this. Gin had known this. Moss had known this. She herself had known this. But that didn't stop her from fighting or Ben from keeping her back from the battle. Cross had felt like strangling him for keeping her back. But things had changed.

Just yesterday, on the same day she'd been forced to stay behind, Gin, Ben and many dogs had returned from their battle with Akakabuto, victorious but hurt and tired. Riki had taken Akakabuto down with the last bit of strength he possessed, and many more dogs than the ones whom had returned had been slain. Gin was the leader of the pack now, and he'd been thrown into a nightmare. There were bodies to be buried, celebrations to be had, and grieving to be done. Scores of the dogs foreign to the Ohu territory had to be negotiated with, messengers had to remember a list of dead to be recited for when they reached their home territory again… The only reason Cross didn't have to help out right now was the fact that she had to take care of all her puppies and Chibi, whom was slumbering happily under a tree. _Still, I might have to help later on…._ Cross groaned at the very thought. Her puppies paused for a moment, wondering if their mother wanted them to do anything, or if the groan had just been an odd noise. One of the brown furred duo began to move away from Cross's belly and tumbled over, rolling against her ear.

Cross snapped out of her daydream. Sitting up, she plucked the puppy from the wayward pose it was sitting in and moved it closer to her belly. It wouldn't do for her brood to be getting in the way of everyone else or getting lost. The puppy sniffed, rolling back against her mother's stomach. Cross looked on in amusement. "Sheh. Such a shy little female." As if responding to her mother's comment, the little puppy went back to quietly nursing. _Well_, thought Cross, _Now that I think of it, I really need to name all of these puppies before too much time passes. We need to call them SOMETHING other than "pup." Hmmm…. I think a fitting name for the girl would start with a "m." Maybe something like Miny, or Miney…. _

XXXXX


	7. Chapter 7

"….what do you mean she's still hungry?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but she is! She's demanded more food-"

"We don't have any more scouts to send out- they're all under strict training. None of us can go hunt for that one's food- and how'd she eat an entire parcel of squirrels in ten minutes?"

"She didn't, sir. She simply picked through the fattest meat and threw the rest out to her recorder."

"The recorder…? Giving food to trash is against the rules….. has the Grandmaster been notified of her actions?"

"Yes, sir, but she holds strong to her previous orders."

"….Fine. Then, Jruy, you have a new set of orders: Find any dogs not on watch duty or strict training and send them out for food. They must at least bring back three prey. Failure for them or you is not an option- if they come back with nothing, then all of you will have your right ears bitten off. Is that clear?"

"Aight, sir!"

The dog known as Jruy turned tail and headed swiftly out of his superior guard's presence. Looking around the newly set forest camp, he sniffed the ground wearily. Fugu had the nasty habit of making his punishments come true much faster than any other of the Grandmaster's guards- it'd be better to carry his orders out as quick as possible. But first, he'd have to find some lackeys. Jruy cocked his ears, raising his head and swinging it around in scanning motion. He'd just sworn he'd heard some dogs talking…..

"….and that's what happened…."

Jruy froze, turning his entire body toward the direction of the talking. The voices sounded somewhat familiar, in a distant way. He frowned slightly. Could it be someone he knew…? But there was no time to be guessing. He needed someone to carry out Fugu's orders, and the dogs he was hearing didn't sound like they were on serious business. He just hoped they'd have able hunting skills- he was rather fond of his right ear, and intended to keep it attached for a little while longer. Jruy ran off toward their direction, guided by several large bushes.

XXXXX

"….seriously, Alucard? You actually said that to him?"

"There wasn't much of a choice, Mao. Why do you seem so shocked?"

"I'm not sho-"

"He's shocked because he's a sissy."

Mao, a young adult Saluki, turned to his torturous twin sister. "Shut it, Mayu. I don't want to hear it from you." Mayu grinned wickedly. "You're just as soft as you were as a pup," she teased. Alucard snorted. "I'm pretty sure both of you still act like pups." Mayu looked at her friend's unnaturally red eyes. "And you're still as odd as ever, Alucard." The dark colored canine was preparing to make a retort to his sitting companions when they suddenly heard the sounds of panting and rapidly approaching footsteps. All three of them sat up. "Who's there?" Mao inquired. A tan-colored muzzle poked out from the nearby bushes. "Lower guard Jruy. I bring an order from the Grandmaster's guard Fugu." Mayu felt her neck fur bristle at the mere mention of the Grandmaster. _That evil, scheming witch… _"What's the threa- order?" Jruy glanced over all of them. "All three of you are to catch at least one prey each in the forest for the container Setsu. Failure to do so will result in each of you losing your right ears. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." The three answered in chorus. Being respectful and replying quickly and clearly to "higher guards" was something essential for surviving in the clan and possibly even advancing in rank. "Right, then. Start your mission." The trio, suddenly given a task, had no choice but to turn tail and head towards the forest. The clan was that blunt.

XXXXX

Mayu prowled through the forest, trying to sniff out something. Mao and Alucard had headed in different directions from her, though they'd made an agreement to meet back at the edge of camp. Those two had probably made this mission a contest between each other- Mao and Alucard were practically brothers from different mothers. At least they'd squeeze some minor enjoyment from this mission. Mayu certainly wouldn't. She hated having anything to do with that brat Setsu, even if it was distantly.

Setsu was the spoiled and stuck up disciple of the Grandmaster- if "disciple" meant being smothered with food and not having to learn or do anything. Originally, Setsu had just been another member of the clan, fetching food, delivering messages, and occasionally being set up on watch duty. Mayu was a hundred percent sure she'd never received any special treatment before then- otherwise, she'd have been aware that Setsu existed before her infamous rise. Still, even if Setsu was a hot source of gossip and spite in the clan, Mayu only partially knew her reasons for being elevated. For one, the Grandmaster had-

A rabbit was abruptly flushed out of the undergrowth, the panicked animal making a run for it from Mayu. Also startled, the female dog only paused momentarily before giving chase. The two dodged and whipped around the trees, the rabbit leaping and checking, and Mayu scrambling to keep up with its tight-nit actions. However, luck was with the her, and she managed to catch the rabbit when it attempted to pause and make her double up. The pause was badly timed, however, and Mayu sank her teeth into the rabbit's scruff when it stopped. After letting lose a piercing scream, the rabbit began thrashing and kicking in a doomed effort to get free. Mayu wasn't having any of it. Growling, she shook her head at break-neck speed, whipping the rabbit around like a rag. Moments later, the rabbit's scream hit a broken crescendo as its neck was snapped in one brutal shake. Mayu stopped shaking her head as she heard the tell-tale _crunch _and let go of the rabbit's body, panting from exhilaration.

"Whew…. a…. argh…. That…..ought to be enough….to feed that imp." Mayu panted a few more times before finally getting her breathing under control and picking up the rabbit. Time to head back to the meeting point- she didn't think Jruy OR Fugu were known for their patience. She ran off towards the clan's camp, wondering exactly what she'd be doing next.

Hopefully something that didn't involve Setsu and a loss of ears.

XXX

She was the queen, or he certainly felt like one. Setsu basked in her luxury, so many animal carcasses lay about, her little treats. Most of them however were hardly touched. Setsu had inspected the choicest cuts or in other words the fattest. The rest were simply scraps, while a few of them had been eaten by a hollow-eyed dog laying in the corner. The Recorder. Setsu paid no mind to him.

"This is bliss." She sighed.

Indeed it was, it had been this way since she was a young pup. She had gone from mere trash to someone of great importance. The "Container" as was her official title. Only the higher in chain of command knew what that meant. Setsu herself only understood certain bits, actually just one. She was the Grandmasters successor, a replacement heir in other words. There was not a finer choice in mind, in her opinion at least. Her fur nothing short of perfection, smooth with a sandy brown color, and a bit of whiteness around her nose, and it was a smooth not like the roughness of many of the Clans warriors. Not that she didn't get an exercise herself, in fact the Grandmaster ordered it. It would be unbecoming for the Container to be fat and out of shape. Though she'd have some broadness in her chest, but for some reason she found that enticing.

A scent hit her nose, dinner time. Her face grimaced in disapproval at who entered. Alucard, Mao and Mayu. Then again she never really bothered to learn their names. They were nothing but mere servants, future servants in her case. Honestly the only person she showed respect towards was the Grandmaster, her and Cain. She was happy to see what they had brought. The males had brought her a weasel and a rabbit each. About time for a new taste, then there came the case of the female.

"What is that?" Setsu asked noting what was in Mayu's mouth.

Setting it down, Mayu answered, "It's a rabbit."

Indeed it was a rabbit, much like the one Mau had caught. There wasn't a visible difference between the two.

"Couldn't you have caught something different?" Asked Setsu.

Mayu was annoyingly confused. "What's wrong with it? He caught a rabbit." Mayu gestured to Mao.

Slumping to her side, Setsu tiredly sighed. "Three little soldiers and two brought back the same thing." She sighed again. "Kind of boring if you ask me. Catch me something else." She replied waving her paw.

"What!" Mayu blurted. After she had gone through the trouble of killing this rabbit, this little whelp was asking her to find her catch something else? Words crawled their way to her throat, refusals, rebuttals, insults, whatever reached the surface first. Mao placed his paw upon his sister's. That action stifled them, always did.

"Fine." Mayu dejectedly gave in. "Anything else you want?"

Setsu thought for a moment. "A partridge."

Partridge, Mayu and Mao hadn't heard that word in such a long time. "Fine." Mayu relented. With nothing else to do she took the rabbit in her mouth and left, Alucard and Mao followed after. Alone Setsu smiled to herself.

"It's good to be the queen."

XXXX

The rabbit carcass hit the wall, a small trail of blood followed as it slid down.

"Where does that little grrr…..get off!" Mayu bit her tongue as she put back any negative comments.

"Sis calm down. Someone might hear you." Mao warned. He knew his sister's temper could often get the best of her. In fact he had to bail her out whenever it did, Alucard sometimes chipped in but Mao feel more responsible. It was his duty as a brother.

Mayu grumbled something under her breath. Obviously her earlier comments that Mao forbid.

"Look Mayu if it makes you feel better I'll go after the bird." Alucard proposed.

"No I'll do it I know the best places they roost." Mao offered.

It made Mayu smile. "No offense but the both of you suck at bird catching."

The males widened their eyes at the abrupt comment. Sucked? Them? Thinking about it they realized those statements were accurate. Mao remembered all the times he had failed at bird catching. He jumped at the right distance but could not sink his fangs. More than often he ended up hurting himself. Alucard never hadn't been unfortunate enough to injure himself, all he had done was scare them off. Maybe it was his eyes? However he was built more for land prey, not avian.

"Yeah your right sis, after all you inherited it," Said Mao. He meant that as a compliment but he could tell the way Mayu's body stiffened. "Sis I-"

"You can have the rabbit." She said before leaving.

Mao said nothing after her. Anything would come out wrong and he didn't want to upset her further.

"It's still a sore subject for her?" Asked Alucard.

Mao replied to his friend with a nod. "She does take after Mom a lot."

XXXX

Mayu could taste the bitterness of the twig she currently chewed on. Twig chewing was a habit she had picked up during her late teen years and now carried into her adulthood. In fact a twig chomper would be more appropriate. She usually did it whenever she was stressed, upset, or just bored. If she were human she would probably have taken up smoking, but being a dog, a twig was more appropriate. Mao just had to bring up old news, he couldn't leave the past alone.

The dead couldn't come back, no use in talking about it. All that mattered to her was catching prey for the little brat Setsu. It was getting late and she was starting to doubt if she would be able to find anything. To her surprise, something hit her nose. It was a long forgotten scent, probably not for Mao as she had claimed he knew where they roosted. That or he heard from another Clan member. There it was, nice and plump, if the brat didn't like it then tough.

Abandoning her twig, Mayu kept low to the ground. Creeping step by step, she made certain not to alert it. Suddenly it started to take off! Had she alerted it? Thinking quickly, she took off into a run.

"_Just a little closer!_" She thought.

It had flown higher and she was right under it. The move had to be timed just right. Mayu then leapt up, springing her legs up first, then releasing. Her body did a bit of a twist in the air.

"_Closer!_"

Then she snapped. The partridge squawked as its vital areas were constricted. Mayu fell to the ground without a falter. Shaking the bird a bit, she made certain to snuff out its life. Soon the bird fell limp. She had actually done it. Mao was right, she was the best. It wasn't prideful but again she deserved it. With the life they had it felt good to give self on praise. In the clan, you were nothing but expendable pawns in the long run, but doing this made her feel so alive. She wondered if Cr-.

Now she was doing it, bringing up the past. That one was dead. She kept telling herself that. Mao on the other hand couldn't just seem to face reality. The sun had sunk even lower, time to leave. The bird hung limply in her mouth as she walked. Maybe she had inherited this skill. Scoffing she found herself becoming a hypocrite in her words. Why was she thinking of her now? It had been years. Her brother still clung to the hope she was alive, where as she was more realistic. Despite being twins, they often contrasted with each other. If that one still lived then why hadn't she returned? That could only mean. Mayu shook her head at that possibility. Death was the more favorable approach, grim as it may have sounded. At least Mayu found herself delving into that more and more each day.

"_The dead can't come back._"

As harsh as that sounded, it was the truth. Mayu scolded to herself and accepted it. There was no use holding onto the past. Focusing on the present was all that mattered if one needed to survive. She, of course, was a survivor.

XXXXX

Torn pieces of fur littered the floor of Setsu's cave, along with the previous partially eaten bodies from before. The spoiled dog had set herself upon the weasel and one of the newer rabbits from earlier, tearing the plumpest flesh out before casting the bloody remains into a corner. She'd saved the last rabbit's body, intending to eat it later, and had given permission to eat the mauled bodies to the Recorder. "They're not fit for me to eat," Setsu had scoffed. "I've have Partridge when that wench Mayu returns." But Mayu hadn't returned from her hunt. Setsu had first fumed, then whined, thrown a tantrum, and then taken a nap after being tired from doing the preceding activity. The Recorder had blankly watched the whole thing, occasionally snapping up some of the corpses' meat while Setsu ranted. But now, finally, Setsu was asleep.

The Recorder slowly staggered up to his feet. For a few moments, he remained in that slightly wavering position, staring blankly ahead at Setsu. His bloodstained mouth twitched. There was a brief burst of noise as two lesser guards outside got in a brief argument, then silence as a superior bit both of them. A sound akin to sighing with slightly clenched teeth emerged from the Recorder's mouth. His paws flexed, digging his nails into the ground before releasing. And then it happened.

Like low-slung clouds leaving a small valley, the dullness in the Recorder's eyes slowly evaporated. Both of them, which had resembled lifeless coat buttons, now were sharpened into clever black pits full of life. His tongue flickered out to lick the drying blood from the corners of his mouth. "_The-e-ere will be no-o-o more praise for the pawn._" Oh no there wouldn't. The Recorder now had a timed mission to carry out that was beyond reciting praise to the Container. She was waiting for him, and there was no point in waiting. It, She, did not like for her tools to be late. Forcing himself to move, the Recorder stiffly lurched toward the cave entrance- _scent!_

The Recorder froze, jerkily sitting up into the same rigid position he usually took when another dog entered or the Container was watching and allowed his eyes to cloud over again. A white shape padded out from the side of the cave- the female Saluki from earlier. A dead bird daggled from her mouth.

"Setsu-" She cut off when she caught sight of him.

"….you." There was a brief awkward silence.

"…Where's Setsu?" The Recorder didn't move. Some of the fur on the dog's nape stood up.

"…I asked you, _where's Setsu?_"Still no movement. Fortunately, she caught sight of the dozing Setsu before she could try to interrogate the Recorder any further. "Oh. She's sleeping, then. I'll just leave the Partridge here." A small note of coldness crept into her last sentence. It was quite obvious that she loathed Setsu… after all, she wasn't the only one. With one last glance at the Recorder, she slipped out of the cave.

After listening to her rapidly disappearing footsteps, the Recorder came to life again. Eyes unclouding at a speed much faster than before, he shoved his body into a standing position, and forced his nearly inflexible legs to move forward. Teetering, the Recorder walked out of the cave.

The guards there were gone- the Recorder was only mildly surprised. Moving as fast possible, he walked along the edge of the camp, heading for small rock den near the center. A few dogs noticed him… but not many. The Grandmaster's guards, on the other hand, immediately spotted him. Quickly whispering to each other, the two moved from the entrance of the stone den and disappeared. The Recorder weaved around the camp, making it seem as if he intended to overshoot the den and go elsewhere. A few murmurs resounded through the camp. "Who's he…?" "I don't know him…" It was time to get out of sight. Without warning, the sound of howling erupted from the far side of the camp. Every dog turned toward the sound, some even swearing and running to the sound. No one was paying attention to the semi-strange dog in the clearing. Putting on a burst of speed, the Recorder burst across the remainder of the camp, stumbling into the stone den.

The inside of the den was shady and cool, with the scents of several dogs lingering inside. However, one scent overrode them all. And it was the scent of the dog laying before him.

"Hello, my spy. Have you come to make a report?" The Grandmaster asked.

"Yes, Grandmaster." The Recorder's voice was emotionless and monotone, using the same tone as when he was reciting praise to Setsu.

"Well then," The Grandmaster replied, "Is she ready?" There was a hidden note of greed and malicious impatience in the Grandmaster's ancient voice.

"Almost."

"….Almost? Tsk tsk, I taught you to respond better than that, my child." The Grandmaster's tone suddenly became very sweet and honeyed. You could've compared it to an old dog crooning to her grandpups…. Or a cat smoothly purring at the defenseless mouse it was about to mangle next.

"Setsu is almost ready to be your container, Grandmaster- just a little while longer." The Recorder's response was a bit more hasty than before.

"Would a month or two work, my dearie?"

The Recorder had been planning to say three or four months, maybe even five. But something about the smile on her face was suddenly… _terrifying. _And his opinion changed even further when he heard the sounds of footsteps outside the den- the two guards had returned from their distraction ploy.

For once, the Recorder's voice was actually shaking when he replied.

"Y-yes, Grandmaster. One or two months would be fine. It would be enough for Setsu to become a bit stronger."

The Grandmaster smiled sweetly at him. "Glad to hear that, dearie. You can go back to your post now. _Silently. _And with no one hearing you… heavens knows we wouldn't want any _causalities _from dogs whom don't recognize you, would we?"

"No, Grandmaster. Not at all."

The Recorder, his body still a bit taut, creakily sat up and left the Grandmaster's den. Two more months. Two more months until Setsu truly was "a Container."

He was both dreading it and looking forward to it.

XXXXX 

Mao lay down the ground, resting. Mayu had returned from giving Setsu her Partridge a while ago, but then had gotten roped into a conversation with a particularly gossipy female guard. She'd now been talking to her for over five minutes, and it didn't look like they were going to stop any time soon. Mao bit back a puppish giggle. Looking at his sister's face, she seemed like an impatient and uncomfortable puppy who was trying to squirm away from their parent's serious talk. A BIG uncomfortable puppy. Well, now that he thought about it, at her age, Mayu would be more likely to have pups of her own rather than to be considered a big pup, or at least be pregnant. Pregnant. Mao blinked. Thinking of pregnant, what _would _a pregnant Mayu look like?

"…and a few swore they'd seen an unfamiliar dog pass through the camp, though maybe et was just 'em being idiots…."

Being pregnant meant you became humongous and fat, Mao knew at least that much. He hadn't known much about pregnancy to start with, and the clan had focused entirely on fighting. There'd been a few instances where pregnancy had been brought up in the Puppy Den, but not that many, and usually in insulting circumstances. But still, an extremely fat Mayu was a very vivid image…. And not necessarily a good one.

"….we never 'ad that many puppies to start with, so losing that group was a pain itself…"

Before he could think about something else, a disproportionate image of a completely bloated Mayu, looking like a gluttonous ball, floated to the top of his head. Mao balked. How had he managed to think of such a monstrous image? He shook his head as hard as possible, attempting to forget what he'd just pictured. He failed. Feeling sick, Mao hung his tongue out of his mouth. The horrible image had left him with a bitter taste, and he doubted he'd be able to forget it for the day. Unless….

Mayu sat up. Looking around the camp, he noted Mayu was still caught in a conversation with the guard. But she wasn't who he was looking for. Mayu spun his head around. There were two or three dogs lounging around the edge of a thick group of trees, a puppy being harshly scolded by his instructor- one of Lazarus's daughter- to the far left of them, and to the far right-

"Hey! Alucard!"

Blinking, the red-eyed dog turned around. "What si- Mao?"

"Come here for a moment. I have something to show- er, tell you."

….unless Mao could pass the image onto someone else. If he was suffering, he wasn't doing it alone.

XXXXX

It took all of her patience to wade through the sea of the guards talk. Luckily she didn't drown by the end. She had learned a great deal of patience as time went on. Supposedly it was due to maturity, and he had done quite a bit since her puppy days. Now she was free to do what she wanted. With the guard gone, Mayu decided to seek out the only ones she actually enjoyed being with.

"Why did you give me such an image!"

Her ears perked, that sounded like Alucard's voice. From the inclination and alarm of his voice, Alucard seemed greatly upset. The voice was coming from behind some trees just bordered from some bushes. As she got closer another sound reached her ears, laughter. It wasn't singular but rather a duel chorus. One was Alucard's but the other she could easily discern.

"You know now that I think about it, it rather funny!" Mao announced, his body shaking with chuckles. "I mean Sis pregnant!"

Mayu raised her eye. The comment should have made her angry but she decided to wait and see.

"You know maybe she wouldn't be a ball." Mao realized, "If anything her belly would sag." Mao thought for a moment, "Maybe."

Mayu felt something twitch in her head, a vein?

"You forget pregnant girls get really cranky." Reminded Alucard.

"Well Sis doesn't have to worry about that." Mao snickered. "Seeing as she's always cranky."

"Mao hurry up with that meat, I'm starving!" Alucard cut in doing a faux impression of a cranky Mayu.

"I don't think you'd have any time to rest Uncle Mao." Alucard said wit ha hint of sympathy.

Mao seemed to brighten up at the sound of "Uncle Mao". "What about her mate?"

Yes what about the fictional mate? With the idea of pregnancy, there would have to be a male to actually impregnate. Mayu felt the twitch again, it felt like it was going to snap.

Alucard simply responded. "What mate?"

Both males male's thought about it for a moment. The idea of Mayu being lovey dovey with any male was well their reactions summed up the idea in its entirety. That reaction was laughter. They fully let it out, they collapsed onto the floor, rolling on the ground. Their breaths barely escaped through the involuntary actions. The images were so vivid I cast away the original image from beforehand. The gluttonous ball was replaced with a cranky nag. Both attributes felt very accurate.

Mayu then felt it snap. Her head suddenly felt very hot and it spread to her entire body. The only thing missing was steam escaping ever orifice in her body. Right about now he could have used a twig, something to at least calm her nerves. Yet she felt calm about it all. They were teasing her and she felt calm? Yet there was nothing scathing about it. They were just being males, two stupid males, who had no idea she was casually strolling up to them.

"Mind if I join in?" Both males stopped their laughing. "Uncle Mao."

The two gulped.

What followed after became blatantly obvious and after that Mayu walked away rather satisfied with herself. Behind her lay Mao and Alucard, a rather bruised looking Mao and Alucard.

"Ow!" Mao rubbed his head. "Did you have to hit us so hard sis? It was jut a joke"

Alucard kept his pain to himself. "I don't think she was laughing."

To their surprise Mayu let out a small chuckle. "Next time you boys might want to talk out of my hearing range."

"Sis wait!" Mao called after. My stopped as her brother padded up to her. "You know we were just kidding right?"

Mayu grinned at her twin. It wasn't the usual sort of grin but a mischievous one. Mao gulped a second time, he knew that look. Raising her paw she slammed it down upon her brother's head. Then she proceeded to rub her paw upon the wound, visibly causing her brother pain.

"You left yourself open Unccclllleee Maaaoooo!"

Mao knew that was a nickname he wouldn't live down now. More fuel for his sister's tease fire. Alucard found the site somewhat heartwarming. Sure they had just jested at her for their own amusement, and honestly he wasn't too surprised at her reaction. The pain he was rather hoping to avoid. Although they held no blood relation, Alucard considered those two his brother and sister.

The Clan oft referred to themselves as a family, but it was a half lie. The blood of the Grandmaster may have bonded them to a certain degree, but none were true bonds. Somehow the three of them had forged such connections. They could read each other so easily.

Mayu was an example.

There was a reason Mayu became so upset at the pregnancy remark. If there was anyone who would never have pups, it would be her. In fact she had stated it several times, both to them or any male clan members that drooled after her. That list had noticeably growing large. Alucard admitted to himself that he too was finding her lovely in her own way. He had seen her grow from a puppy to a strong, fierce adult. The other side of the list only furthered Alucards resolve. He would look after those two as long as he lived. Even if every bone in his body was broken, he wouldn't stop. If he failed then it was another loved one he failed to protect.


	8. Chapter 8

Alone, she sat alone in her chamber. The darkness was a welcoming blanket, the silence a soothing lullaby. Her thoughts were what she dreamed about. However when she slept, she dreamt about real dreams, dreams of conquest and glory. They had stayed hidden, even back when she was a puppy, the days when her father ruled the Clan. Her father, now there was a Grandmaster.

Names were unimportant to Grandmasters, once you took up the mantle, the old you was dead. You had to embrace your right to rule and let that be your identity. What was her old name? She had forgotten, so much had she let her title absorb her. Many were growing impatient. Those who had been in the Clan long enough had been drilled about their ideals since birth. She could most especially see this impatience with Cain.

Cain was a different story altogether. He wasn't a high ranking general, but she had made him her personal errand boy so to speak. His own mother had no strength after she birthed him, dying only a few second afterwards. There he was, so small and alone. Something inside her sparked the moment she saw him. Perhaps it was a yearning? In her younger days, a few years after she had take on the mantle, she had sought to birth an heir. Many of the clan males were eager to sire the next Grandmaster, but complication arose.

Sickness struck her, crippling for weeks. When it was done she was healthy save for one thing- she was unable to bear. That was it, the end of the Grandmaster line. The Conclave needed to inhabit a body, so as to keep the power and wisdom of countless generations alive. Parent to child that was the way it had been. Without a successor, there would be no way. Adopting Cain seemed to be to fill that void to a certain degree, but there was still the matter of passing the torch.

That's where the matter came to Setsu.

A perfect container had been hard to find. Satsu was the first attempt, but she resulted in failure. From the initial tests Setsu passed with flying colors. Her body had been able to handle a fraction of the spirits. Yet she still needed the proper training. They had given her luxury only befitting those of the highest breeding. Of course there were training exercises and ritual rights. Those may have been less strenuous then the soldiers went through, nevertheless they were still important.

"Just a little while longer." She said reassuringly. Whom she spoke to was unknown only to her. The only indication she referred to being the way she ran her paw down her chest.

Suddenly a spike of what seemed like pain etched up to her face.

"Yes, yes I know."

The matter of Cain came up again. She could see the lustful eye in her ward, the lust all males had at some point or another. Yet the lust wasn't directed toward the one she wanted. That in itself became a problem. Only one she felt would suitably pair with Cain and she would make certain to arrange that. Anything else would just be unacceptable. A plan had been saved, save in case the scenario didn't plan out accordingly. The pained spike came up again.

"I know what I'm doing." She argued.

The pain came again, this time not seeming, but real. "You'd better whelp!" The Conclave demanded. The voice of her father always at the forefront, she would make him proud of her, just this once.

XXX

With thud, the puppy was rammed against a tree. "NO! NO! I'M SORRY, I PROMISE I WON'T DO IT, I PROMISE, I PROMIS-"

"Shut up!" His punisher snarled. "You skipped training for nothing. You lay in your bed, hiding. Did you expect none of the officers would see you?"

"I-I d-didn't… I DIDN'T MEAN IT, I DIDN'T MEAN-"

With one swift motion, the young female Border Collie pressed her paw over the screaming puppy's windpipe and pressed down. Its breath and howling were abruptly cut off, making it choke horribly. Kicking out and thrashing, it desperately attempted to break free from its torturer's oppressive hold. She didn't let go. Only when the puppy was frothing at the mouth, eyes rolling back into its tiny head, limbs flailing with weakening strength, did she bother to say anything.

"I will never repeat an order. I will never repeat any information I've given your pitiful body. I expect you to follow then and NOT afterward." Her voice was barely a whisper, but the puppy's silencing body made it quite clear what she was saying. With every emphasized word, she'd drive her paw in a little harder. "Got it?"

The puppy didn't respond. From the way it looked, it seemed either dead or passed out. But the Border Collie knew the difference between the two. From the pup's still foaming mouth and barely moving chest, she could tell it was still barely conscious. Normally, the honey-furred dog would have continued pressing on his throat till he was unconscious. However, the puppy had to make up for training classes it had missed.

Almost in a bored fashion, she removed her paw from the puppy's throat.

For a few moments, there was no response from the spastically drooling puppy's body. It remained still, simply laying on the ground. At least, until she kicked the puppy in the chest and stomach successively. With a loud gasping noise, the puppy's mouth burst open as it heaved for air. The Collie only waited until it slowly rolled over onto its belly.

"Get up. Now." The pup only waited until it had gotten another breath or two, then immediately obeyed, wide eyed and fearing.

"You will go to class. And you will not miss another one. If so, my commander will deal with you. Leave." Chest still heaving heavily, the puppy skittered off into the camp, moving as fast as possible. Lazarus's daughter Maria grimly smiled. Rule by fear of pain and its wielder. Such an effective way to operate.

She turned around and slipped off, melting into the trees. But as she ran quietly through the woods, her thoughts drifted off to some information she'd gained from her father and overheard.

The clan had started out simply enough. Find, conquer, grow, and repeat. If the conquered tried to fight back, you were to beat them into submission, no questions asked. Training lessons were one giant coliseum, with the puppies and average trainees being the gladiators. The Grandmaster had supervised this action, linking the beaten and the victors with her tainted blood before the fight.

In a way, they were a forced family, and an even more forced alliance. Still, many of the dogs forced into the clan due to hunger and greed often grew shrewd and clever through these beatings, going much further than those with swelled egos. Those whom were cunning less bullies had their fun during puppyhood… and then were promptly destroyed upon entering adulthood by one now crafty dog whom they'd pushed around at one time.

Revenge had been taken on inside the clan's borders more than once. The Grandmaster had turned her head and looked the other way more than once. Particularly when the killer had a beautifully executed revenge. If they'd done well with it, the Grandmaster would watch them, judge their intelligence. Those with fairly low ambitions other than revenge and killing were "somehow found" by the Grandmaster's guards and trained to achieve more difficult and complex goals for her. Anyone whom wished to overthrow the Grandmaster, on the other hand….

Some killings had became legends. None of the puppies would forget about what had happened to Toru.

"He was plotting against the Grandmaster," they'd fearfully whisper. "Almost had an entire rebellion going on with a few stupid lower guards. Stupid, stupid guards!"

At that point, someone accustomed to hearing the horrible story would take their role. "What happened to him?"

"What happened to him? What happened to him? You idiot dog- they found Toru hanging inside a thorn bush, all torn to pieces. And that wasn't the worst part."

"What? What?" the terrified group would ask.

"When they looked at what was left intact of his head, they found a dead crow stuffed inside his throat! A whole crow! Claws, beak, and all!" the teller would furiously whisper, eyes wide or throwing up their paws.

"But who did it?" The group nearly screamed- nearly, because they were trying to keep as quiet as possible while being emphatetic- all eagerling awaiting the answer.

"No one knows- or, at least, no one besides the Grandmaster and her guards- and maybe not even them! But I'll tell you something-" the dog would hollowly whisper, leaning in. "-everyone thinks it was Cain or Lazarus."

And then the entire group would shut up. (Maria couldn't help but feel a small spot of pride here.)

Neither Lazarus nor Cain were dogs you wanted to mess with. Even if Cain was higher up than Lazarus, the majority of the groups secretly agreed it was probably Lazarus who'd done it- and possibly on Cain's orders. Though some were scared of Drake the Child Eater, he didn't wield NEAR as much power or influence over them as Cain and Lazarus did. And power and influence were very important in the clan.

With power and influence, you could chose whom would grow to be an educated dog or whom would be a beat-up fool. You could chose whether you wanted to eat a rabbit or a weasel- …..or a dead pup. And you could chose whom to pick as your mate.

Mates. What a difficult subject in the clan. The Grandmaster was always willing to have new puppies in the clan, particularly ones born of two clan members. But taking care of a pregnant female whom couldn't do much while being pregnant was a big task. "Survival of the fittest" would never stop continuing for the clan, and there were no exceptions- pregnant or not.

The pregnant females would be excused from more stressful jobs, yes, but they still had to arrive at the fresh kill pile as fast as possible in order to get the large amount of food they needed- while also carrying out several of their required jobs. A large amount of the slower females realized that carrying pups would make it impossible for them to survive in a situation they were already having trouble with- and resolved not to have pups unless they found a mate whom could help them out.

This "class" of mate came from said mate being a higher up member of the clan, or being high up yourself. This left many of the lower officers completely unable to find mates- something both daughters of Lazarus didn't care for. There'd always be a near endless supply of orphaned and run-away puppies, so why care about creating them yourself?

Still, Maria thought musingly, Since everyone whom enters the clan had a blood fusion from the Grandmaster, making them family, doesn't that technically make finding a mate incest? She paused. No, probably not- I guess I just don't care about it, though I wouldn't mind it either. And with that extremely disturbing thought, Maria left to report to her father and sister.

XXXXX

Cain prowled through the camp, watching other dogs pass by. Momentarily interested in what was being talked about, he flicked his ears to listen in on other's conversations, but didn't pick up anything but the regular garble that usually went on. Interest now waned, he rotated his ears back to the front. It was too bad he didn't have anything to do right now, seeing the Grandmaster had sent him away for a while.

Cain snorted. 'Sent him away for a while.' It sounded like he was a failed guard. He wasn't amused. But the Grandmaster's word was law, and fighting against her order would have just pushed him slightly out of her favor. So Cain had simply replied, "Yes, Grandmaster" and left. Now he was sauntering through the outer middle of the camp, with nothing to do.

Yawning, Cain glanced around. Every now and then a dog would bark his name or hunch down in submission, vying for his approval, but these attempts weren't very extreme, and were generally ignored by the surrounding clan members. Cain went around the several times, trying to make himself look unworried and normal- or at least as normal as he could be. It was rare for him to leave the Grandmaster's side, and if the clan witnessed him away from the Grandmaster and pacing in a seemingly worried way, there would be unrest.

So Cain tried to keep himself occupied in the most natural way possible. He ordered some guards around and ate some freshly killed squirrels. After that he tried to look like he had some interest in the hunting schedules, but he found his mind wandering. The Grandmaster was making him suspicious. Yes, he should remain loyal to her, but he needed to know whom were her spies. When he himself needed to cover up a small rebellion, or have Lazarus "dispose" of someone, he needed to know whom her extended eyes were.

Cain looked around for one more time. He almost went back to the Grandmaster- until something caught his eye. A flash of white fur near the bushes… Cain focused his eyes on it. A Saluki and a short-haired bird dog were walking the border together on the afternoon patrol. There was nothing wrong or suspicious with this- Cain had seen the bird dog before somewhere, and he was pretty sure his name was Pryu. But as the two passed, Cain took in their scents. The bird dog held a slightly musty smell, a dark clingy scent shared with most of the clan members, and a strong but small trace of musk common to the all males, but the Saluki….

There was no musk on it- her. Instead, there was the presence of some blood- no doubt from when she'd eaten recently- and the musky smell was very let up on, she having her own scent which had been mixed with clan members she had been around. But what made Cain interested was a particular smell that hung around closer to her fur.

It was a semi-sweet, semi-bitter smell that enticed him and drew him in. How long had it been since he'd caught wind of a female in heat? The Grandmaster kept him occupied with her consuming job, not leaving any time for females. The majority of the females he could've had wanted mates whom they didn't want to be manipulated by them or anyone close to them- even the dumbest ones knew at least that. But his immediate attraction to her was astounding. It was not fully attraction as it was minor lust- he had been cut off from all female's company other than ordering them around, with the exception the Grandmaster, for so long.

Cain clenched his jaw, forcing the smell out of his system. The Saluki and bird dog has passed along their paths, leaving him be… at least for now. But he knew he'd run into them- particularly the in-heat female- at one point or another. Hopefully, she would be out of heat the next time she caught his attention- because Cain wasn't sure what he'd do if they were left alone and her guard was done otherwise.

XXX

"Kana?"

"Nope."

"Rukia?"

"No."

"Julia?"

That answer only received a look that asked "Are you crazy?"

"What about Maria?" Alucard asked.

Once more Mao gave him a look bearing the same expression, this time however he spoke. "Geez why don't you just ask me to jump of a cliff?

Alucard let out a chuckle. "Oh come on they aren't that bad looking."

"No, but they're Lazarus's daughters." Mao answered.

Likewise, Alucard thought deeply. "Yeah who would want o have that chain around your neck."

Since Mayu had beaten them, the two men nursed their wounds while talking. Mayu had gone off for some alone time, or girl time as she put it. Girls were the subject the two were talking about. Many girls lay within the Clan, so many ripe for the taking. Alucard had been the first to spring it up and Mao found himself going along with it. So far each female that was brought up was shot down.

"Come on Mao there's got to be at least one girl you like." Alucard reasoned. They were at that age.

"Alucard I'm just not interested." Mao replied with affirmation.

"Not even for Setsu?"

Another look was delivered in his direction. "Okay I got the message but I'm surprised, most males would be all over getting a mate."

Mao yawned and stretched. "Not me, happy being by myself."

"Yeah but between the two of you I think Mayu has a better chance of being Auntie Mayu."

Mao chuckled upon what his friend just said. "Maybe." The mental image of his sister as an aunt was much easier than her pregnant, big, round and oh god there it was again! The image pressed in his head bouncing up and down. Against his own judgment he put the sagging belly Mayu back into place. That image at least was much more bearable.

"You know it's getting close to that time." Alucard suddenly said.

Mao knew it was a change of subject. Good enough for him as he wanted no more talk of females and love.

"What?" Came his own question.

Alucard scratched one of his ears. A scent of nervous hesitation seemed to radiate from the movement. "Sacrifice."

Sacrifice. There was a reason for that dread. Every year there was one. Mayu and Mao were always present for one. Everyone in the clan would be gathered, everyone. Then again it may have not been everyone, but the sheer amount of dogs that crammed inside was large in volume. The purpose of the sacrifices were never clear, at least to the twins; Alucard seemed to have a better understanding of it but he never really disclosed it. Out of the years they had been in the clan they had seen much. Normally it was a small animal such as a weasel or squirrel, yet sometimes a clan member would "volunteer" to be one. What always disturbed them was the bloodshed, the sacrifices always entailed a lot of blood.

First they would hold the sacrifice down, next they would take a claw of sorts, similar to a human's knife. Taking said claw/knife, it would then carve into the victim's chest cavity. Mao could always remember the look of pain, followed by stillness as the sacrifice breathed their last breaths.

"In a few days they'll probably pick something." Alucard noted.

"You think it'll be prey or a member? Mao asked.

Alucard gave a shrug. "Who knows? I don't think they need a reason to pick anyone in particular." Looking up, he could see the sun painting the sky orange, it would be an otherwise lovely sight if not for the circumstances that loomed. "Whatever bleeds the most."

Mao could understand that. Honestly he hoped it wasn't a Clan member. To be honest he felt a bit in the betrayal category. They were all so loyal to the teachings, only to be slaughtered. There was one look of such betrayal last year. A young male not even past adolescence had been chosen. His eyes looked wide with fright as he looked about the chamber as his fellow clansmen chanted and praised. Those eyes remained fear filled as they drove that blade into him and freed his heart from its flesh prison.

Mao hoped nobody would have to go through with that again.

XXXXX

Hyra wasn't really a bad dog. OK, so maybe he was. The Clan wasn't famed for raising dogs of excellent role model, and seeing Hyra was a decent rank up there, he wasn't exactly an angel. But both he and his mate Shulma were harmless enough when left alone. Maybe it was the Basset Hound gene in him. Hyra had a large tendency to drool, and not the threatening kind of drool either. But all in all, Hyra had the basics you wanted in a dog: loyalty, unwavering faith, and complete obedience. Hyra would ask no questions, believing his superiors to be smarter and more well thought out than himself, and thus just accepted whatever they told him automatically and followed it through. For the most part, he would've made an excellent grunt in the clan, but his sharp nose and eyes where needed for a particular job. Pilling total obedience and humbleness on his keen senses and decent bite strength, his job was a relatively simple one: being a messenger and a look out. It only just so happened that he was the messenger and look out for the sacrifice ritual, and that Cain was seeking a meeting with him.

"…I trust this would be no problem?" The two dogs were sitting away from the rest of the camp, having the meeting under a large ash tree at the eastern end of the camp. Cain had just made a few formalities to Hyra, which, of course, he'd completely ignored. Formalities didn't matter when talking to your master. He was master, and you just had to do whatever he said. (Hyra had a bit of tame dog in him, courtesy of his Basset hound blood, and therefore had latched onto his superiors as if they were friendly human masters.)

"No, M- Cain, sir, no." Hyra licked his nose, mentally whiting out the name "Cain" and replacing it with "Master."

"So you'll make sure to do it, and no slip-ups?"

"No, Cain-" Master. "-Sir, no." Another more enthusiastic lick of the nose, this time slopping on a layer of slobber, which began to drip done. Cain scooted back a few inches.

"…you know, Hyra, if you play your station right, there may a few extra pieces of fresh kill at the pile for you…" He paused to observe the look on Hyra's face at the statement. A blank look with droopy jowls and a reservoir of drool slowly beginning to form in their folds greeted him. Absolutely no effect. Cain didn't trust anyone, not even when the Grandmaster hinted they were trustworthy. He just didn't believe someone would do something for free, unless under a threat. So he tried again. "…or for that mate of yours, Shulma. I hear she's been looking thin lately." Blatant lie. Shulma was just as sturdy and wrinkly as ever. Cain swore she had some bloodhound in her, being a head and half taller than her mate, and half a head taller than anyone else in the clan. But it worked.

"…well, Shulma HAS been saying she's hungry lately…" ….then again, she's gonna have puppies sometime later, but I guess he knows that already, being master. "OK. I wouldn't mind extra food."

Cain heard the sound of a trap snapping shut in his head. Got you! He mentally exclaimed. All Hyra heard was the sound of his own drool rushing from its endless well in his mouth. "So you know what to do, then?" "Right," Hyra responded, bobbing his head up and down in agreement, and unintentionally watering the ground. "When they're picking the sacrifice, you're going to go take a white Saluki for questioning, so she won't be there. I'll just tell everyone else she was plotting against the Grandmaster, or was in on it. At least, you think she is." Hyra completely and fully believed the lie about Mayu without a second thought. "Right." Cain responded. "I'll deliver your fresh kill tomorrow."

Hyra blinked. Getting a treat from master? The domesticated side in him swooned. "Yes, sir , Cain, sir!" He bayed happily, his floppy and dangling jaw skin being jerked up and down. Spit launched out in ropes, only to flop short on the forest floor.

Cain moved out of the way as fast as possible. "Make sure you do it!" He hastily added before running off. Hyra was then left to himself, and, feeling smug yet somewhat bewildered at Cain's run, left to go impart the news to Shulma.

XXXX

Alucard, Mao, and Mayu looked at each other uncomfortably, and not just because the former two were still sore from their beating. Tonight was the time. The whole clan buzzed in a hive of gossip and fearful yet wanting voices. The choice would be made tonight. Even Setsu felt a small pang of unease, and then reassured herself she was safe from it, which only smothered the pang, not ridding herself of it. No one was quite sure what would be said and done. The act itself was not to be done today, oh no. But this was an audition for their gruesome play. And the actors all were thirsting in fear and a sense of strict devotion for the answer. For tonight was special.

Tonight was the night the sacrifice would be chosen.

Alucard scratched his ear. Mao sniffed the air. "Honestly, whom- what- do you think is going to be chosen this year?" His words seemed to be another layer on the whispered gossip.

"I don't know," Mayu admitted.

"No one does until someone's chosen," Alucard replied. The threesome sat quietly for a moment. The sacrifice would be chosen tonight, only to be killed three days later on the eve of the third day. All of those in their group, and all the adults, really, knew about this tradition and followed it through. There was no complaining, no protesting. Most of them enjoyed the slice of violence and cruel devotion that was displayed on sacrifice day, some even going so far as to want to be the sacrifice. Their wishes went unfulfilled, however, the sacrifice usually being of very young age, aka puppies or cubs being chosen much more frequently than adults. But they wouldn't have to wait much longer to see who'd be chosen. The clan had gathered near the meeting point, a large, flat rock, and they were waiting on the sacrifice pickers to emerge. A sense of impatience filled the air.

Mayu got up. "I'm going to take a short walk. I can't stand this atmosphere any more…"

Mao scrambled up to his feet. "Me too. The uneasiness here is so thick in the air I can almost eat it- then again, it's always like this around sacrifice time."

Mayu took a few steps forward before Mao paused in one of his steps. "Alucard, you coming?"

Alucard shook his head. "I think I'll pass on this round. I'm a little sore." He and Mao shared a knowing look.

Mayu snorted and walked on. "Catch up with me later, Mao." Before he could reply, she took off, trotting away, as Mao turned back to Alucard. But what she didn't see was the dog that casually began following in her footsteps at a distance.

Mao turned his head away from Alucard, arching his ears. "Was that one of the guards?"

XXXXX

Mayu walked around the edge of the trees. It was good to be out of the stressful air of the sacrifice area, though she would have to return to it to hear the sacrifice's name. But there was something uneasy about, and she just couldn't seem to find it… A stick cracked behind her. Someone had been following her. Mayu whirled around. Suddenly, she found herself face-to-face with a long legged mutt.

"You are under arrest. Do not attempt to fight back."

Mayu felt a shock ripple through her fur. "….what?" She bounced back a few inches. The dog stared at her coolly.

"Move back again and I'll make sure you'll be in more trouble in than you know existed."

She couldn't help scoffing, though it wasn't a strong one. "Just you try it." A low growl grew in her chest, and the same from the other dog's. Mayu's fur bristling, she slowly and purposely lifted her front foot and moved it forward, crunching twigs underneath it. The other dog's growl went down the fraction of an octave, and it cautiously edged backwards. Mayu's growl subsided, though it was still a low rumble in her chest. "Who sent you to arrest me?"

"You should know." Mayu leaped around as the voice came from behind her, feeling something ram into her shoulder-

The thick muzzle of an Akita loomed down at her. "You're under arrest for the ultimate crime-" she pushed her foot down into her fur. "-plotting against the Grandmaster!"

Mayu's jaw dropped open in disbelief, and her guard was let down momentarily. It was all the guard needed. With a single deft moment she pounced on her stomach, winding her completely and then setting her teeth into her scruff. In a vicious jerk, she reared and pulled her to her feet, the other guard rushing forward and wedging her between them. Several other dogs near them which had heard the snarled accusation were suddenly caught by two other guards, being forced into submission and having teeth bared at them. They were not to say a word about this scheme and scene, and doing so would guarantee a fate worse than death. But Mayu didn't hear these whispered threats. Still slightly dizzy from the blow to her belly and all that was going on, but swiftly recovering, she was being forced to rapidly walk through the camp.

By the time her thoughts had clicked into place and she'd gotten her breath back, the two guards had taken her to the far end of the camp. Mayu noticed they'd taken a short cut behind the dens. "What are you doing, you furred scu-" The two dogs abruptly shoved toward each other, squeezing Mayu in a vise like grip. For a thin Saluki, this was enough to make her be briefly silenced. The two suddenly relaxed for a moment, allowing Mayu to speak again. "What are you lot doing?" There wasn't as much force in voice as she'd hoped there'd be. The mutt couldn't help but get a cold smirk.

"Cain would like to have a word with you," he hissed.

Mayu felt anger and confusion rise in her chest and turned toward him. "Ca-" The two dogs came to stop, the Akita biting at her shoulder without warning. Mayu gave a stifled yelp, a thin bead of blood running down her shoulder.

"We're here." The Akita announced grimly. Mayu turned her head to face forward again, biting down in a grimace of pain, but it was replaced with a new type of grimness when she beheld the thing in front of her. A low slung cave entrance greeted her to the scents of fear, despair, and dried urine and blood. They'd arrived at the torture chamber.

Mayu's gut wrenched. She knew this place. She'd had to escort a poor Terrier here when he disobeyed orders and ran from the clan. He'd been held here two days. When he came out, half of his scruff and tail were gone and he was a quivering wreck. And now she was being shoved into this hellhole over a false accusation on sacrifice selection day. What is going on? With a shove, the two threw her toward the entrance. Mayu dug her claws into the ground, trying to get a purchase. It failed, and with a sudden lurch and hit from behind, she fell forward, tumbling into the cave. The instant she was in, she spun around, snarling a challenge. "Damn it, why am I in here? I don't have anything to do with the Grandmaster!"

"But you do have something to do with me," a voice remarked silkily.

Mayu whirled around for the second time that day. Prowling out of the darkness and into the small window of light in the cave was Cain. "You…!"

"Hello, Mayu," Cain casually remarked. He slowly stalked forward, moving over spots of bloodstained rock. Mayu didn't move. "I see you got the arrest order… nice to have your company here." His voice sounded dangerously deceiving in the small but echoing room. Cain sharply turned his head toward the guards lingering outside. "Go watch the trail here and make sure nobody is coming. I'll be interrogating the prisoner."

"Yes, Cain, sir." The pair ran away. Mayu could still here their vanishing footsteps.

"…what do you want?" There was no sound of respect in her voice. She harbored utter loathing toward Cain, the one whom had dragged her into this twisted replacement for a family. And since she was already being questioned for something she had nothing to do with, she decided to take it all the way.

Cain began to slowly circle her. "…They're almost ready to chose a sacrifice, you know. Such a bloody business."

Mayu's fur bristled. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Cain continued to prowl around her.

"It's much safer down here. Would you rather be stuck with the choosers or with me?" He paused, then suddenly lunged toward her. Mayu skidded back into the middle. The floor was worn away into a rough texture from all the dogs that had walked- or thrashed in pain- in it.

"…what the hell are you saying?" Mayu flexed her paws. She suddenly felt nervous and her mouth dry.

Cain's voice dropped to a purr. "…you do know what I'm saying, Mayu. Don't tell me you don't feel it. It's your time of year, after all."

Mayu drew back her lips. "You sick cur. I'd never have you, not even if you were the last dog in this whole place." Mayu also slipped into a circle. She'd tried to hold back the look of shock on her face when Cain had mentioned her time. How had he known she was in heat? She was sure she'd done a good job of hiding the impulses and pressed attitude she received whenever in heat, and she hadn't glimpsed Cain once in her cycle.

With a snarl, he launched toward her, pawing her neck and trying to force her to the ground. Mayu roared in response, biting his paw and slipping out from under his foot. She danced away, sliding across the floor. For a few seconds she looked to the shoulder Cain had shoved down on. There was only a small dark smudge on it, nothing more. Looking up, she turned just in time to dodge out of Cain's way as lunged again. In the small deep room, there was not much area to maneuver, leaving Mayu trapped. Cain, despite all his moving, was keeping close to the entrance. Mayu felt constricted and her panting had forcefully increased. She'd never imagined this would be happening. BAM.

Cain rammed into her side, opening his mouth and latching it around the back of her neck. Mayu kicked and twisted, desperately trying to free herself as Cain shoved her to the floor, she felt his other paw moved to push her body done, barking filled the outside of the cave, or was it the inside? Havoc filled her eyes as her thrashing and attempted biting seemed to have no effect, she could feel Cain trying to tighten his grip on her before doing what he meant to do-

-a flash of white erupted in the corner of her eye, along with two other moving blurs.

A duo of voices screamed her name at the same time.

"MAYU!"


	9. Chapter 9

"Mao!" Mayu cried in half confusion, half surprise. The white blur indeed was her brother. In the sudden rush she had ignored the other blur that had arrived, a black blur.

A nudge came against her body, the cold press of a nose "Are you okay?"

Mayu looked up to see her savior at least the other half. "Alucard." She said. A loud growl turned her away from her friend. What May wasn't like anything she had ever seen. Cain and Mao wrestled each other, their bodies turning on the ground. They each pinned each other down, rolling about. When Mao got the upper hand, he went right for the chest. Cain let out pained cry as Mao's teeth broke the skin. With a brief rush of adrenaline, Cain kicked Mao off with his hind legs.

Cain glanced over his wound for a brief moment. In that short interval, he looked none too pleased. "What do you think you're doing! How dare you attack your superior!" That bit rang true, in rank Cain held a higher standing compared to Mao. It almost scared her that Mao did something like this. True her brother disagreed with the Clan's methods, but he always obeyed his orders, just like a good little soldier. Between the two of them, she had done more fighting, mostly out of defense of her brother. Now he seemed as if he were a completely different dog.

Mao's fur stood on end as he let out a vicious sounding snarl. "I don't care! You keep your filthy paws off my sister!" Mao leapt towards Cain this time going for the neck. However, Cain foresaw this and in a swift turn, he countered Mao pinning him upon the ground.

"Mao!" Mayu cried. Alucard held a paw over her leg. She could have run but he would stop her. This wasn't her fight. But if she didn't do anything, Mao would certainly be killed. She was vastly surprised. Cain bit down hard on Mao's neck. A gasp struggled out of his throat. Mao visibly struggled under the elder dogs bite. Cain pressed down harden, clearly an intent to kill. Mao could see that. Murder only reserved for betrayals within the clan, that or for those who broke a sever number of rules. So far he had transgressed on both.

But those were for good reasons, and this next act he held no second thoughts.

"_What?_" Cain's mind raced in thought. Somehow Mao found the strength to push. Cain could feel himself elevating upward, followed by a swift throw to the ground. This only served to further shock Mayu. She had never seen this amount of adrenaline from her brother. Even Alucard looked surprised. Cain reared himself to attack, when a sudden pain filled the side of his head. A small splash of blood painted the cave floor. Cain's eyes looked down in disbelief as his right ear lay within his own blood. Looking at Mao, he gave a look of absolute hatred. All three of them could feel such hatred peering into them. Cain said nothing more and ran out of the cave as fast as he could.

Mao managed a small smile as he collapsed.

Mayu didn't bother calling her brothers name, seeing as she had already called it twice. A question formed though.

"What were you thinking!"

She didn't receive an answer.

"We need to get him outside." Said Alucard.

Mayu didn't argue, she helped her friend bring her brother to his paws. Mao staggered a bit, his mind drifting in and out. The two guided him out of the cave mouth, a gust of fresh air hit their fur. It was a chill wind, cooling heir skin. Mao found it comforting against the still burning wounds. Rain putting out a fire served as an example. As they exited, they found the entrance clear. No guards, and no Cain waiting to counterattack.

Just then, a small but hoarse cough escaped Mao. Mayu breathed her own in relief, for a second she thought she had lost him. Mao staggered a bit before he fell to the side of a tree. "I got im." Mao said coughing again. His throat still felt sore. That wasn't his only sore point. "Ow!" Mao's lethargic mindset snapped back to it's full thinking capacity, right at the moment his sisters paw touched the sore spot upon his head.

"Just what the hell were you thinking!" Mayu demanded.

Mao looked down at his paws before he felt another touch of annoyance. "Quit it!" Mao whined.

"Answer me Mao!" Mayu demanded. "Did you see the look in his eyes! He would have killed you!"

Mao didn't answer. At the moment his sister didn't seem to be in an understanding mood. He looked away from her which provoked a snarl from his sibling. Alucard almost stepped into the argument. He could understand Mao's reasoning's, even if Mayu couldn't. How she didn't understand flew beyond him. They couldn't stay for long however. What Mao had done stood as treason, at least from his point of view. He didn't condone what his friend did, Cain deserved it, Alucard could see the lustful eye the mutt held.

Mayu prepared to smack her brother again. That is until she felt an overwhelming presence. Overwhelming rush more like it, several dogs sprang out of nowhere.

Alucard turned in surprise. "This fast!" He said confusedly. How had a force come this quickly? Did Cain foresee his intentions being disturbed. He and Mayu prepared themselves to fight, but no fight came, at least not to them. The dogs came after them, several surrounding each of them, yet they were not the target.

"Leave him alone!" Mayu cried.

The Clan dogs swarmed over Mao, pinning him down. Mayu tried to break through but she found herself sharing her brother's predicament. Everything went by fast. Dogs sprang from every which way, or it seemed that way due to the sheer size of the group. Every member seemed to meld together, a large oppressive force. There stood out one recognizable form.

"Crush and detain!" Came the order, and they obeyed.

As Mayu squirmed, she could see his pupils bearing down on her. Two raw emotions mixed into a frappe, hatred and lust, the former for her brother and the latter for her. A third ingredient added to the emoting appetizer, defeat. Cain, even as the chef, held no credit for the third. Alucard held that honor, or dishonor as he saw it. He had failed in protecting them. Mayu screamed her brother's name as the dogs dragged Mao back into the depths of the torture chamber.

XXX

She hadn't been surprised this had happened. Her eyes had noticed and her ears had heard of Cain's doings. She always planted suitable spies of her own, just to know what went in her territory. Most of he dogs she sent were following her orders, not Cain's. Needless to say, the sacrifice choice was put on a short hiatus. Cain had returned along with the restrained Mayu and Alucard. For Alucard she ordered a swift punishment, yet none for Mayu. She granted no such thing to the life sucker. Cain had found that strange, he questioned her but they moved it to the confines of her chamber.

"Why Grandmaster!" Cain questioned. "Alucard clearly aided that traitor!"

Treason? Halfway, it was against for a lesser member to lash out against one of higher ranking. Fights and lost limbs were not such an uncommon find, if anything those were brushed aside. Fights amongst the younger members, the puppy sitters and fellow puppies, that and the guards were nothing to frown upon. If anything they believed fighting encouraged strength. However Cain worked directly under her. True he wasn't an official high guard, but he was hers. Memories of him growing up flooded back to her mind, she let them drown her. Cain was a pure born, meaning he was born within the Clan. A single pup born to a lone mother, no male would claim him as his son, probably just a moment of weakness involving a guard. The moment she saw him, something inside her longed, a greedy feeling of envy. Her barren womb would never be filled with growing life, that and she had grown old at this point so it generally stood moot. She wouldn't have allowed a mother to bear the burden of being a single parent. So once Cain could be weaned, she ordered the female a proper send off.

Cain grew like any other child within the Clan, save for her direct guidance. He may have not been her child but she made certain he was treated as such in some ways. Such a bright, inquisitive pup, admittedly she found herself happy, a first in a long time. Eventually Cain became an adult and officially her errand boy, her personal servant. An adult he had become, still she couldn't deny something he asked. Like all males of his age, he had certain urges that needed quenching.

She knew her reason for detaining Mao, the only obstacle guarding Mayu. A fine female she had grown into. She recalled the day when she and her brother were first presented to her and initiated. Her old age didn't put a damper on her memories.

"Are you certain you want her?" She asked.

Cain didn't hesitate. "Yes I-I." He stammered at the end but he got his point across.

"There is the matter of her brother. What do you plan to do with him?"

Cain didn't have an answer to that one. The Grandmaster decided to help her adoptive son along.

"You know the sacrifice ceremony was disrupted because of your lust."

The mutt held his head down for a moment but quickly understood the hidden saying underneath his master's words. A few days or so but everything would be ready. Soon it would work both ways, for the Clan and himself.

XXX

It had been two full days since the incident. The entire clan had been abuzz with worried news: while they had been waiting to hear who or what had been selected for the sacrifice, one of the Grandmaster's guards had abruptly emerged and hackled the announcer from his place. In the following confusion, he had delivered a message: Sacrifice selection would be delayed a few days.

Sacrifice selection? Being moved forward a few days? Some of the clan had whispered in outraged and worried tones. In fact, a few of them almost went to complain to Cain. But the instant they ran into him, his face being covered with dried blood and an ear missing, their complaints turned into stuttering compliments and turning tail runs. Something had taken place, down in the dark hole that was the torture chamber. After all, high ranking officers didn't appear without ears for no reason. But no one was sure of what it was. Even Setsu was being kept out of the loop, judging by her frequent and shrieked complaints. The clan had been beginning to feel on edge. And then there had come Shulma.

Everyone had clustered around the large female bloodhound (though not too close, seeing she drooled) but reeled away from her in shock and surprise when she'd imparted her news. Since new clan members kept arriving and asking what had happened, Shulma had to repeat herself constantly. But those who listened ran and spread the news to others.

A white Saluki had been taken prisoner.

As the dogs screamed the news among each other like Jays, they scrambled to find the Saluki's identity. There was no questioning in Shulma's answer- after all, she was the mate of the sacrifice messenger and currently carrying his puppies. Everyone also acknowledged that Hyra wasn't the sharpest fang in the jaws, and neither was Shulma. The two really didn't have the capacity to lie in the first place even if they'd wanted to. All this taken into account, the clan set out to find the Saluki's identity. They did so within the hour.

One of the Saluki siblings- composed of Mayu and Mao- was missing. And it certainly wasn't Mayu.

The news spread like wildfire.

"Mao's being tortured! He's the one in the chamber!"

"I heard he's the one who torn Cain's ear off!"

"Really? I didn't know he had it in him."

"He was making a conspiracy towards the Grandmaster!"

"Naw, he's too stupid for that."

"Even if he did, he's caught now."

"Did a Toru, did he?"

"Not yet, but he soon will."

And in all the chaos, a guard emerged with an official message from the Grandmaster. The message was very simple:

"The dog in custody has committed a crime. He will be held in the torture chamber until he gives us sufficient answers. Anyone to follow his pawsteps will have their eyes bitten out and will be left for dead outside the clan borders. Understood?"

"Understood!" The entire clan chimed back. No one wanted to have their eyes torn out for pointless reasons- and knowing Mao had committed a crime was enough for all of them. In fact, as the Grandmaster had subtlety hinted, forgetting about Mao completely would be in their best interests. And so they forgot. Mao's spot in the den was looked past like it was invisible, and so was his guard post. The name "Mao" was shoved out of everyone's thoughts.

Interestingly enough, this all happened during the first day and the second day's morning after the incident. There was no better example of how fully the Grandmaster controlled the clan.

XXX

Mayu paced back and forth inside her shared den, wearing the stone floor down even more. From a brief distance, Alucard lay on his belly, watching her actions. Like a ticking clock, his red eyes moved back and forth, almost in harmony with the clicking sound of Mayu's claws. There was no talking. There hadn't been for quite a while. A small drop of water dripped from the cave ceiling.

Ever since Mao had been taken three days ago, both Mayu and Alucard had been moved to one compacted den in den arrest together so the guards could keep an eye on them. Mayu, for once in her life, had not tried protesting about the move. She'd spent all her fury on screaming for Mao and cursing his guards, and had attempted to escape from her guards multiple times. All of them had ended in crushing failure. Once they'd made the move, however, Mayu had become far more silent then usual. It seemed she was afraid that one insult too much would crush her imprisoned brother's only lifeline.

_That_ _or she's plotting something,_ Alucard observed.

He bit back an exhausted yawn. While Mayu had gone into a turbulent half-sleep for the last two days, worn out by her driven pacing, Alucard had spent the two nights also plotting. Hundreds of ideas of freeing Mao had swam through his head, only to be shot down as their flaws were exploited one by one. A toll had been taken on both of the adult dogs, both physically and mentally.

Mayu had never felt so much like a helpless puppy before. She'd been unable to save her brother. Long gone were the days when the most prevalent threat was a clumsy Mako that Mayu could bite away and then scold her brother for his tears.

_You should be tougher, _she'd tell him. _You're a male, aren't you? Shut up and suck it up. _

Mayu paced back and forth once more. She was now grown up, a powerful and swift adult. For all the times she'd saved her brother in his puppy hood, it was dissolved away by the fact that she had been defeated by her own twisted Mako and lost her brother as well- AFTER he'd saved her.

_What absolute humiliation, _Mayu snarled in her head. _I lost my own fight and Mao in one stroke. What kind of a sister am I?_

Mayu finally stopped pacing. Alucard lifted his head, but didn't say anything. In this kind of atmosphere, words of encouragement would have the same effect as lighting a match and throwing it on a damp towel. All the same, Mayu had the feeling that she'd be even more desperate if Alucard was taken from her as well. Losing both her brothers in one stroke would have crippled her to such a horrible extent that she didn't know what she would do.

Alucard abruptly sat up. "I hear voices outside."

Mayu whipped around, raising her ears. Sure enough, the sound of voices was approaching swiftly. It sounded as though the two were in an argument. Alucard got to his feet. Mayu felt herself tensing-

-as two guard dogs stopped outside the cave. Mayu looked into their brown eyes and found only hatred for them. One of them, feeling her gaze, shifted uneasily.

"Your den arrest has been lifted for the moment. You both are to accompany the guards to the torture chamber immediately."

Mayu's fur bristled.

"The torture chamber?"

Alucard's ear's cocked.

"Why?" he asked sharply.

The dog's response was emotionless and flat.

"Due to the mercifulness of High Officer Cain, you are being allowed to visit a prisoner."

_**CAIN!**_

Pure loathing welled up in Mayu's chest. She was ready to spit back a venomous reply, but then her thoughts turned to Mao, trapped and alone in the stone cavern. Her and Alucard's brief hesitation was all the guard needed.

"Any attempted escapes or rule breaking will result in the execution of the prisoner." he coolly added, directing it mostly toward Mayu, whom seemed on the verge of biting someone in the face or swearing. Possibly both. Alucard himself was ready to attack the guards- he only did a better job of hiding his aggression. But not by much.

Mayu breathed out heavily. The two guards stared. Alucard's fur bristled by one more fraction. Finally, the silence was broken.

"I'll go when you two do," Mayu grudgingly forced out of her mouth.

Alucard cast her a glance. Holding down her hatred for Cain and hot temper wouldn't be an easy task. Then again, he'd have to keep his own temper in check. And one certain dog that had been taken from both of them would help them do that.

"I'm ready to leave." Alucard replied.

The guards let lose a small breath of relief. They'd been fixing themselves for a fight, and were glad it hadn't happened. Turning tail, they glanced back at Mayu and Alucard, who were anxious to leave the cave.

"Right then. Let's go."

The two exited the cave and began the guarded walk to the torture chamber.

XXX

A few minutes later, Mayu and Alucard felt their hearts leap up as they stood on the lip of the cave. Four guards had their eyes fixed on them- two outside the chamber itself, and the two that had accompanied them. But what Alucard and Mayu were more focused on was the smell of blood seeping out of the cave. Mao was nowhere in sight.

For a moment, Alucard felt a stab of fear. Had he lost a second Seras?

But both the dog's fears were somewhat quenched when a knot of white fur moved from the inside of the cave. Mayu sucked in an extra deep breath. Alucard was speechless.

"Hello, guys… Sis… Alucard…" Mao said in a cracked voice. "I can't believe you're here."

What was remained of the white Saluki was gone. Only a few emaciated patches of white fur survived on his body. The rest was dyed red and brown.

Mao was much gaunter than Mayu had ever seen him before. Strips of torn fur hung from his shoulders, swollen slashes scattered across the corner of his lips and cheeks. A pulsing bruise that was a bluish black color had bloated up underneath his left eye, making it impossible for him to see totally out of it. Fur had ripped from his haunches and legs, where cruel bite marks had been sunken deeply into the exposed flesh. A portion of Mao's right ear was gone, his belly scratched and tender looking. From the sound of his voice, he hadn't been given water for the entire three days.

"Mao…!" Mayu choked out. "You… what happened to you?"

Mao turned his head to the left, facing his unbloated eye toward Mayu and Alucard. "You… you're both here. Don't tell me they got you too!" Alucard stepped forward.

"No, Mao, they didn't. We've come to visit you."

For a few moments, Mao was speechless. "…Cain let you visit? _You, _Mayu, of all dogs? It could've been a trap! Why did you risk it-"

"WHY DID YOU TRY TO SAVE ME?" Mayu broke in, screaming at Mao. The guards gave a leap of surprise; Alucard barely managed to repress his. Mao stared at his sister with his good eye.

"Sis-"

"You saw Cain! He was ready to rip you to pieces, you dumbass! You're much weaker than me- if **I** was having trouble holding him off, what gave you the idea that you would be able to take him on? Mao… Mao… you… you stupid idiot!"

"Si-"

"You were nearly torn into shreds by him! Why didn't you ask for Alucard's help, or run? Just… why?"

"Ma-"

"The gu-"

"MAYU!"

Mao roared at the top of his lungs, breaking off his sister's tirade. The entire group fell silent, a few guards skittering to the side. Mao stood there, breathing heavily as his sister stared in shock. Mao usually didn't speak up for himself, just listening till his hot-blooded sister was done with her ranting before chipping his piece in. Alucard didn't dare to break the silence. Mao moved, his breathing still harsh and as he fixed his gaze on his sister.

"Mayu… you've always protected me, no matter what. But I'm not little anymore, and I'm your brother- I have to protect you too!" His last words turned into a snarl of determination, and Mayu and Alucard were left in a small wake of shock. Just as Alucard was about to break the silence, Mayu moved. Taking a few steps forward, she moved until she was sitting in front of her brother, her nose mere inches away from his face. Mao braced himself slightly, not knowing what his sister would do next, but preparing to stick to his words. But Mayu spoke once more.

"Mao…. You idiot. You overprotective idiot."

Her voice was no longer scolding, but silent and shaky with emotion welled up in it. Alucard swallowed his words as Mao lowered his face a fraction and let his body go limp. There was nothing that could be said in this situation. And, looking at the bowed backs of the silent siblings, nothing that he wanted to say.

Without warning, the sound of multiple dogs howling spit open the air. Everyone sat bolt up right, Mao struggling to get up.

"What's going on?"

All of them could hear vicious howls of victory, and a riot of savage- Mayu and Mao realized with horror- happiness. Suddenly, they spotted a dog running toward them as fast as his legs could carry him, ears flapping in the created wind and dead leaves crunching under his feet. He was howling something indistinguishable at the distance he was at, however; two of the guards split off from guarding the small group at the torture chamber to light after him. As he came closer, everyone tensing, Mayu realized what he was saying.

"THE SACRIFICE HAS BEEN CHOSEN! At moonrise tomorrow… Mao will be fed to the spirits!"

XXX

The sacrifice chamber was alive with movement, packed to the brim with members of the Clan. If there was a guess, then practically everyone stood present. Their hungry eyes looked on towards the center stage, a small cliff overlooking all. A slab of rock akin to a table stood in its center. Dried blood stained the stone, remnants of sacrifices past. To Mayu, it all became a blur again. Everything had happened so fast. After the announcement, the guards came. They tried to protest, but more and more followed, dragging Mao out of sight. Her mind became a frenzied mess, Alucard had attempted to calm her.

"_It'll be alright_" He soothed. It had worked for a while, somewhere deep inside she convinced herself things would be alright, they would pick someone else and Mao would go free. She tried to chew on a twig, several infact, just like she always did. It didn't help.

Now here she was. Alucard stood next to her. A blank look of indifference lay on his face. However Mayu knew he was hiding his true feelings, her own emotions were working themselves halfway up.

"_This isn't happening._" Mayu repeated. She kept saying that, putting herself further into denial. Maybe if she convinced herself that this was a bad dream, she would wake up, awake back in Sawada's home, playing in the yard as she held her brother tightly by the tail.

The cheers grew louder as the Grandmaster stepped into view. The old female stood proud as her slaves gave their adoring attention towards the future bloodbath.

"And so the time has come again to offer a soul to the conclave." The Grandmaster began her speech, something to rile up the masses. They were like puppets and her speech the strings. "With each sacrifice, our resolve strengthens, and the new blood will quench our thirst."

Quench for thirst, more like quenching their bloodlust.

The Grandmaster looked behind her, Cain was the first to emerge, in his mouth he held a strange tool, it looked like a claw yet the glint that caught in everyone's eyes revealed it was metal. Suddenly the howls grew again as a battered shape limped out of the passage.

"Mao!" Mayu shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the cheers of the other members.

The sacrifice had arrived. She couldn't get to him, this sea of dogs blocked her way. This wasn't happening, this could be happening, she tried to tell herself that again, hoping it wouldn't come true. Her eyes fell upon Cain as he led her brother upon the table. Mao wasn't even fighting, he was just letting them.

"Mao!" She screamed again. Somehow he had heard her, as he looked over with his still functioning eye.

The male saluki could see his sister's panicked face. For some reason, despite the circumstances, he smiled. Mimicking this, Mayu smiled as well. Everything froze between them, the twins could only feel the devotion they felt towards each other. Mao had no regrets over what he did, Mayu would have done the same, they both knew that.

"_I'm sorry sis._"

He didn't have to speak for Mayu to hear the apology.

"Spirits of the Conclave," The grandmaster announced, proudly holing out her chest, "We offer this soul to you!"

Looking over to Cain with a silent command, a slight form of a grin crossed the males face as he leapt upon the table and drove it into Mao's chest.

"MAO!" Mayu's cry was drowned out by the growing howls and cheers of the Clan. Mao gasped and gurgled as blood spurted up from his chest. The knife claw worked its way, carving through the ribcage and working its way to the heart. After a bit of work, something gave. Removing the knife, Cain gave his Grandmaster the honors. The old female dove her head into Mao's open cavity, and after a bit of pull, Mao's still heart came out.

Mayu could only watch in horror as her brothers lifeless head rolled to stare at the bloodthirsty crowd. The Clan's prayers had been answered, and Cain could feel what he desired in his grasp. Alucard turned his head away, unable to view the sight. Mayu didn't turn away, her eyes fixated on the sight, her expression frozen ever the same.

XXX

Mayu secluded herself whilst the Clan still remained below, an after party of sorts while they added their body to the bone yard. The bone yard, a piece of the caves that hadn't been seen, it only showed how deep the caverns run. Whenever there was a sacrifice, the body of the deceased would be placed there, to rot amongst the many soulless carcasses. She couldn't watch, not after what happened. What kind of sister was she? Not wanting to pay respects to her brother, her dead brother. By all means she should see him, but the image of him lying there lifeless.

She didn't want to think about it.

The air grew chill as her emotions, and just as dead. How she longed for the past now, those bygone days of happiness, that is she would have, but the past had moved on into the present, the grim realty of the present. Tears fought hard to breach the surface of her eyes, but she defended against them.

"You shouldn't hold your pain in."

Mayu froze at the voice. That frozen feelings thawed by her own shudders, shudders of hatred.

"Cain." She rasped.

Behind her, she could easily tell the male was smirking. "You should feel happy, it is an honor for someone of the Clan to be chosen as a sacrifice." Cain's smirk shrank. "Your brother has sated the Conclave."

A low growl sprang up from her chest. "DAMN THE CONCLAVE!" Mayu snapped as she lunged at Cain. Her anger blinded her actions and senses. Cain foresaw that and easily he pinned her with a simple twist of her neck. Removing his jaw from her jowls, he placed a paw upon her chest. It wasn't hard enough to pin her, Mayu knew she could easily get up, but she didn't. The events of the day had emotionally drained her. Cain knew that and he took full advantage of it.

"Don't try to move," Cain warned. "You have no place to run."

That wasn't true, with most of the clan underground, there were plenty of places to run. But she knew what he really meant; she had no place to go to. The Clan had been her home for years. The only drive she had of escaping was with another.

"Mao." She whispered. Almost as if he hoped her brother would appear and save her.

Mao wasn't coming though. God she hated this feeling, now she truly felt like the cliché females were often associated with, weak and whiny. Becoming a male wasn't easy, she had carefully tried to distance herself from the other bitches, but now here she was, about to become Cain's. Cain could smell her cycle still turning.

"Without Mao, you have no one," Cain hissed, "accept me and I'll be your pillar of strength."

Cain neared in on the emotionally paralyzed female. His male urges would be satisfied. Then suddenly his mind went blank, as something swift rammed against him, and in a turn, his head collided with the ground, knocking him senseless, the last shape he could make out was a blurry black.

XXX

"Alucard?" Mao asked as her friend descended.

Alucard swiftly turned to her. "Come on!" He urged. Mayu stumbled uncertainly to her feet. "What are you?" She started but at Alucard's urging, she moved along.

"Come on hurry!"

The duo made it mouth point of the path when Mayu stopped. "Alucard what are you doing?" She asked again.

Alucard wanted to rush her but he knew she wouldn't budge without an explanation. Breathing, he explained himself. "Look Mayu now's, your chance. Their all down there, they won't notice you."

"Notice me?" Mayu asked confusedly.

Alucard didn't hold any impatience, in her broken state; he knew she had no idea what he was inferring to. "Keep going straight down the path, there we'll be a series of trees, keep going and don't stop till you can't smell them. The Clan's area held a distinct scent. It stretched far showing how much their influence had spread. Mayu had never gone past the scented area. What Alucard was offering was well freedom.

"Come on hurry! I don't know how long he'll stay out." Alucrad referred to the still unconscious form of Cain.

Mayu uncertainly looked beyond. A straight shot, and she would make it. She had all the chances, but she couldn't seem to take the first step.

"Come with me." She beckoned.

Alucard was taken aback by the request. For a brief moment, he looked ready to leave. Then his face shifted, hardly noticeable with his dark furred features. "No." He declared.

Mayu found the confusion returning, "What? Alucard why you don't belong here." Mayu felt that certainly enough. Why wouldn't he want to leave? Alucard held as much disdain for the Clan as much as she did. But then why?

"Do you remember what I told you and Mao when you were just puppies?"

Mayu silently shook her head. By now, those times were pushed far back in her mind.

"You haven't been touched by the grandmaster influence. You still look the same."

Now Mayu remembered. Most of the Clan members held the same dark, unnatural features. Yet she and Mao looked the same. She always wondered why, yet never questioned it.

"Alucard I don't see why you can't-"

"Look at me!"

At his sudden snap, Mayu took all of Alucards features in. His crimson colored eyes, the color of blood, it went perfectly along with his plasma sucking habits. At first it disturbed her, especially when they first met, but now friendship had pushed those prejudices away.

"Alucard you don't have to-"

"Just go Mayu." Alucard instructed, cutting her off. "You'll never get this chance again."

Mayu knew that was true. Looking behind her, she saw the open path. Hesitation clashed with her. Then in that split moment she made her choice. Blowing away the hesitation, she ran and she kept going.

Alucard smiled as his still living friend ran off into the wilderness. Not taking his own chances, Alucard quickly ran off. Cain awoke uncertain of what had happened. Immediately however, he sensed that Mayu no longer was among them. A search was held for the escaped female. Cain himself led the search, yet they yielded no results. Reasonably, Cain was upset. His male call would go unsated. A talk had transpired between him and the Grandmaster. For some reason he seemed rather perturbed about the information he received, more specifically whenever Setsu walked within his sights.

Luckily he didn't remember who had attacked him. He held his suspicions but he couldn't pin it. Alucard knew he had a better chance of slipping through his suspicions. During the search he cooperated. He had to make it look good and so far, it had worked.

Yet it felt bittersweet.

The Clan had gotten their sacrifice, yet he had saved Mayu from having her virginity taken by Cain.

"Seres." He whispered.

Images of his dear Seres appeared in his head. Her smiling face and his wagging tail, those were times he wished he could take back. More images followed, Mao and Mayu. Since loosing Seres, those two had replaced the pain he once bore in his heart. Now he pain returned, and once more, he had no one to share it with.

Bittersweet.

XXX

Mayu kept running, she kept going until the Clan's scent couldn't reach her nose. Fire screamed in her lungs, so she took a moment to rest. Breathing against a tree, she felt the flames die down. Cool air rushed inside her and soon she felt better. An unknown set of trees surrounded her. She had definitely travelled far past the Clan boundary. For good measure she probably should venture further. For now she rested, or she would have if he didn't feel numb, emotionally that is.

"Damn it." She whispered, pawing at the ground.

"Damn it." She aid again, this time with more force.

"Damn it!" Rising to her feet she growled clawing at the tree.

Mayu continued to claw until the bark started to peel away. Then with a resounding cry, she screamed "DAMN IT!" Her voice echoed through out the forest.

She had let it all out. All the anger she held, yet the pain remained. Then it came, her breathes started to choke. A sound started to form, one that she made very certain to hide during her transition to an adult. Her vision started to blur, as a wet feeling flowed down.

The pain found its way to the surface.

"Mao. She sobbed quietly, then with an increasing pitch, "MAO!" Her tears flowed like a river.

No one stood by to comfort her.


	10. Chapter 10

A general disturbance had reached Ohu. No one saw it, but it was felt by many and regarded as a potential bringer of change. Many of the younger males were most affected by it, and were the first to feel it before it reached the veterans. But once they'd gathered uneasily, shifting around and talking about nothing but feeling tense nevertheless, all of the old dogs watching knew what was happening, even if the feeling had dimmed with age. It was a feeling of energy, a burst of anti-containment everyone felt at one point in their lives. For the old dogs, it was merely a time of amusement at the younger dogs' disturbance and a time for nostalgia to reign. The feeling had left many of them years ago, allowing them to settle peacefully in an area and stay there with old comrades or their mates. But for the younger ones, it was a burst of energy, a feeling of frustration and a horrible hope that the army would have another enemy to fight or another paradise to find, though they would probably abandon their found paradise in the same amount of time they'd leave Ohu.

The reason for this feeling was simple: ever since Ohu had conquered its enemies and came back from Hougen's war victorious, there had been nothing to do. An attack or two by outside stray dogs was the most they could expect; with no threat of Kaibutsu or even a single bear many of the dogs were left to patrol Gajou repeatedly day after day. Even the laziest dog would have to admit that walking around the same rock stretch every day was a dull experience. The only burst of fun- if you could call it that- were the daily hunting trips. But even running down a rabbit day after day could get boring. Wrestling and sparring was becoming far more common between dogs, and so was discussing past battles with war buddies. Weed was doing a good job of holding down the peace, yes, but they didn't want peace. They wanted to move around unfamiliar woods, run, and most of all, fight!

But there was no fighting to be had. Weed had won the war, and had firmly put a stopper on any violent activities outside of sparring and attacking bears or any such other threats. The lack of aforementioned threats wasn't helping the restlessness of the recruits. Friendships were being made between those of Hougen's army who'd defected to Weed and Gin's side, respect made- at least that was an upside to the peaceful forest and mountain layout of Ohu. Otherwise, there was really nothing else that the troops (now ex-troops, seeing there was no war) could enjoy. Or the more adventurous lot, anyway. Many of the dogs grumbling about being cooped up would go nowhere in the end- they'd paid in blood for Futago Pass, and didn't plan on looking at their sacrifices with such flippancy. Dogs like GB and Sasuke were quite happy at the lack of fights, in fact. It was well known that the two weren't going to a promotion for bravery any time soon, preferring scouting to engaging in any actual combat. Sure, GB had 'grown a pair' ever since he'd spied on Hougen during war time, but those spots weren't going to change any time soon.

Wasting away. That was what the entire group of restless ones thought was happening to them. They, who could throw an opponent to the ground, they, who could howl battle cries and were descended from those who had dethroned Akakabuto from the top of Gajou, were wasting away. Why stay in one place when there were settlements, new packs to be joined in the more unfamiliar places were available? Had they not stayed in prime physical shape during the war? There was no shame in being under a leader such as Gin, who had dealt one of the death blows to Akakabuto himself, but Ohu and the entire Futago Pass were beginning to feel crowded, whether they stayed fit or not. A particular case of this unrest had gripped one of the soldiers of Ohu. Someone who had served in Hougen's army previously. An ex-general, in fact….

Bat was beginning to tire of Ohu.

It had held an unbreakable hold for him when he had found it in the winter, being one of Hougen's generals and new to the area. Despite being blind, his sense of smell and touch had presented a fascinating layout underneath and above the snow. The seeming magnificence of a forest and rocky mount that never stopped, of all the wonderful places to lay ambushes and deceive his enemies from… Futago Pass had been a frozen battle ground of blood soaked snow and a frigid Gajou. Hougen and Genba had been northern gods then, unshakable by even the strongest dogs and towering from the top of the fortress as symbols of death and ruthlessness themselves. Bat had wisely obeyed their orders and stayed on their good sides. He had participated in the carnage of choosing a general, and had been selected along with Kite and Buruge. The bloody jawed assassin, blind one, and self proclaimed Shinigami… oh, what a terrible three they'd been! And how brutally and disgustingly wonderful it had been to meet their enemies on the ice plain of Futago's forest!

War had held Bat's interest along with the word of Hougen. Genba had been killed, then disposed of by his brother in a spiraling descent into what would become madness inside madness. Enraged by the death of his brother, Hougen had planned to slit the throats of the Ohu army, every one. His generals agreed. They had revenge to take on humans as well- and who would defy Hougen? Even Bat, blind as he was, could tell he was unstable. And so they had gone into battle.

The rest was Ohu history.

The generals had fallen almost all at the same time, being taken down by different champions as their platoons had struggled around them. None of their fights had been short, all of the generals rising to their pinnacle of fighting skill- but eventually being bitterly defeated by their foes. In Bat's case, he'd been forced to fight the surviving Kai Brother (one of the aged "Demon Dogs") and the old northern platoon leader Ben. But he'd won. The Demon Dog's days were limited, he having been an adult when Gin had been a mere whelp, and so were Ben's. But Bat only knew his opponent's names after their offspring had arrived and shoved his face into the snow with Ben's guidance. So much for victory.

But the army had been generous. Instead of killing him, they had pitied him, and given him a chance to join them while keeping their honor intact. Bat had taken their offer, and been accepted into Ohu by Gin himself. It had been a glorious feeling, to find someone and a group that could help him and give him a chance to form comradeship instead of ruling by fear. His grudge against humans had been laid dormant, they not daring to approach any of the Ohu's army premises or fool with any of the dogs. He supposed their thanks for Akakabuto's death was being shown even today. The urge for mindless war had left him. But the feeling for venturing away and meeting other's hadn't.

Bat had come to Ohu with a superior feeling, having used all the dogs he'd met earlier in his life as pawns or training dummies to hone his freakily acute senses. Being blind had paid off in this regard. But after his forgiveness at the paws of Gin and seeing what real comradeship was like, Bat had wanted more. What could he encounter outside of Ohu? Of Futago Pass? He'd wondered outside of this area before, obviously, seeing he had to train his senses and meet others, but he'd "viewed" the world in one way, not bothering to fully smell it, to sense its glories. And now he was. It was no use to get old before going on his adventure, so Bat had decided to leave as possible after his wounds from the final battle of the war had healed. And they almost fully had.

A few pangs of pain wouldn't kill him- why not leave today? Bat saw no reason not to. Unlike humans, dogs did not make plans for ahead of time during peaceful periods. If a dog was going to depart from his pack, he'd simply depart whenever he felt like it and howl goodbye to everyone on the way out. Such a thing was true for Bat. Now that he was no longer a general, but a common as dirt troop among the Ohu dogs, no one would make a big fuss at his leaving, not like if Gin or Weed had to leave. Some goodbyes here and there would suffice. And they did.

So it was on that day that Bat the ex-general and newly ex-Ohu troop (for the moment) left Ohu's paradise of Futago Pass. Several of his newly made comrades told him goodbye and wished him luck, as well as challenging him to train harder, and Buruge and Kite took note of his leave. He returned their challenges and passing words, howling and barking goodbye to them before heading off south of Futago and taking a route that wouldn't bring him too close to any of the humans.

Not that it was the humans he'd have to fear in the following events.

XXX

The rabbit chewed at the grass, inattentive to its surroundings. Nibble by nibble, it nourished itself bit by bit. Suddenly it felt something; it was a rush of feelings all at once. Instincts worked that way, but from the particular form of rush, it knew danger. Looking up, its whiskers twitched. Something was watching it, a tell tale crunch of a leaf gave it away. Whatever it was, it quickened its pace, it knew it knew.

"_Rustle Rustle!_"

The leaves moved for a split second as a white figure leapt from the bushes. The rabbit took off in full sprint, kicking up dirt as its hind legs propelled it forward. The two white furs became blurs as predator and prey played out. The two almost were hind and muzzle, as the predators teeth gnashed forward, trying to subdue its prey. The rabbit did its best, ran with all its might to stay ahead. Its little heart beat like drum against its ribcage almost to the point it could break. Or come very near close to it. Luck would be on the rabbit's side, for the predator started to slow its pace. Even in that moment, the rabbit didn't ponder why; it took its advantage and ran. The predator tried to keep up the pace, but it just couldn't keep up. A grumble from its gut signaled a clear reason. With a skid cloud of dirt, the creature, a white, female saluki, took a long look at the disappearing white rabbit.

"Damn it," Mayu cursed to herself.

She supposed that was what she got after skipping few meals. Sometimes she felt that way. So emotionally drained she wouldn't even care about eating. Instead she would stare outside her home all day, only getting up to get a drink or do her womanly business in the bushes. Today was just one of those days, an early start to a long depressing day. The only remedy for that? A good twig chew, that's what. Mayu never had trouble finding one and pretty soon, a nice piece of bark lay between her lips. Somehow it tasted good, and it calmed her nerves, and she enjoyed it immensely. Shame she couldn't get a more stable supply, but that's how life worked.

So far, her life had been veritable proof.

How long had it been since then? A few seasons perhaps or at least after winter. Spring hung in the air as the snow and ice melted. The moment she left, the cold came. Appropriate enough, for it fit her. Cold and alone went hand in hand. Again, it fit. For the most part, her life had been uneventful upon settling here. Winter had been hard, very hard, but she survived. However one moment disrupted that dull tranquility, courtesy of a lone dog she encountered. A lone scraggly looking thing, unbelievably a male, all he did was talk about some Hougey or Hou…..something sama. Mayu hadn't paid him much mind, that is until he tried to drag her back to whomever he served.

What happened next didn't need to be explained in great detail. Yet it ended with said male running away like a scared puppy. More than likely he wouldn't be telling his comrades about this embarrassing experience.

However that had been the highlight of winter, after that everything returned to the depressing doldrums that her life had become. It didn't bother her as one might think, she had gotten used to it. She didn't even expect it to get better. Which it wouldn't, as pessimistic as it sounded, Mayu didn't expect thing to change anytime soon. Seeing nothing else, she decided to quench her parched throat. All that running around had made her thirsty. A river wasn't far so she didn't have to walk much. Taking a short cut, her body brushed against twigs and leaves. Possibly a stray insect found its way, entangling in her white her, still that blinding color no matter what rut befell her. A mere shake removed them, and a _crunch _signified they wouldn't be making any more rides soon.

Craning her neck down, she lapped up the cool water. The liquid felt so good against her throat.

"_I really have to stop skipping meals._" She thought to herself. It really was unhealthy of her. Food didn't just show itself, unlike humans, dogs had to hunt for their meals. Sometimes, being a human seemed glamorous in comparison. Her thirst problem in the mean time had been satisfied. Her eyes closed as the dryness vanished. Mayu wanted to savor every bit, every precious drop. The thirst started to quench as the dryness and gulping slowed. Mau even opened her eyes and in the water's reflection, she saw a white saluki beside her.

She gasped and immediately sprang back to her feet. But there was nobody there. She didn't call out or even utter the name of one long gone.

"You're going crazy. Seeing things that aren't there." Mau smacked herself in the forehead, reprimanding herself.

The dead couldn't come back. It must have been a trick of the mind, nothing else. Hunger probably was the culprit. A gnaw of hunger complained once more to.

"Shut up!" Mayu barked. It didn't work. Giving a groan, Mayu knew the only way to satisfy it.

Rabbit hunting season was on. Rabbits were not her best skill, her other's ran toward the flightier variety of prey. However her mind dead set on the rabbit, and rabbit is what she would have. Sniffing the air, Mayu sorted through the other scents in the air, some good, others bad. Well, she had a good nose for that sort of thing, and it didn't take long to find a particular scent. Sure enough, there it was. The same rabbit, she knew that, luck may have been on her side. She made certain not to make a sound; she didn't want to scare it off again. Every twig and leaf, she avoided. Step by step, tip toeing through the woods. The rabbit twitched its nose once. Mayu stopped, had it sensed her?

"_Damn!_" Mayu thought, not daring to say it out loud.

The rabbit turned its head and then it went right back to eating. Mayu would have sighed, but she didn't dare that either.

"_So far so good._" Mayu thought to herself again.

Apparently her stomach stood by her side this time. Not a single grumble ruined the moment. Good timing as so far the moment seemed picture. Her back legs sprang, her paws dug into the ground. She could almost taste the meat against her tongue. It made her mouth water. In fact she did. Saliva trickled down her maw only to be licked away with her tongue.

The rabbit had started to sense something, but it was far too late. Mayu made her move. The rabbit didn't have time to react, as its neck snapped from the impact of the teeth.

But it wasn't Mayu's teeth that finished the poor creature off.

XXX

Bat shook the rabbit a few times. With an audible snap, the rabbit went limp. It had given a good struggle, but in the end, survival of the fittest played out. The strong won out every time. Bat had to give himself some pride, even with the peace he had lapsed into, his senses hadn't dulled. So far since leaving Ohu, his life hadn't been very eventful. So far he had simply traveled without so much as a goal. He hadn't even encountered another dog. That changed today. It struck him mildly, mildly in he did expect a dog at some point, but surprised at the fact he encountered one after his days of travel, even more so that a female had crossed his path.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" The female blurted out in an angry huff.

Bat stood dumbfounded by her statement. He didn't quite know what to make of this situation, that and he had a rabbit in his mouth.

The female picked up on that. "The rabbit," He knew she was pointing with her paw, "I had it first."

Now Bat hadn't really thought much of females. Honestly the opposite sex was very unimportant to him. Every female he had come across were of the fragile variety. Female dogs were mostly viewed as breeding tools. The days of Hougan were testament to that. In fact most of the Ohu fighters were male, very few females to be found. Many of them had fallen under that stereotypical notion. Immediately Bat sensed something about this one, something…different. The way she spoke upfront like that, it signified boldness, very bold.

Bat set the rabbit down. "This?" He asked, knowing the answer, but finding the question a sudden spur of the moment, completely catching him off guard.

"Are you blind the ra-" She stopped at her own question, for she could see the answer, his eyes, the pale orbs, marked by thin scars. The pain had long past, but the memory remained. The female's voice twirled in uncertainty. Bat felt mutuality in his emotions towards seeing another of his kind. When one sense died, the others grew stronger so they said.

In general, the moment felt extremely odd for both of them. "Do you want this?" Bat offered. Going with the spontaneousness of the situation, Bat suddenly felt charitable. Another stereotype, be courteous to ladies. Maybe it brought on due to the sooth of his vengeance driven heart.

The female didn't seem to oblige much. What with her statement of, "Never mind keep it." For some reason he pictured her shaking his head, whatever she looked like. His mind's eye could only grant him a sort of 'sight'. All he knew was an irate female now sulked off, muttering an occasional curse. Now Bat found himself alone with his catch. He felt a little hollow about it though, and he didn't understand why.

After his meal, he could have to find shelter. The scent of rain hung in the air. Sleeping out in the open wouldn't be an option this time.

XXX

Mayu angrily stalked through the bushes, heading for her den. It had been quite a while since she'd been this irate. She ground her teeth together, snapping the twig in two. Feeling only slightly surprised, Mayu opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, dropping the remainder of the twig onto the ground. Normally, she'd have taken another twig to calm her nerves. But at the strength her jaws were grinding at now, the twig would have merely been bitten in half and gotten stuck to her tongue- another thing which wouldn't have calmed her nerves. Mayu didn't quite know what was making her so angry.

There were a multitude of reasons, that much was certain.

For one thing, she'd lost her meal. Careful stalking down the drain, time she could have used to find something to eat. And now she was left once more with a growling and protesting stomach. And a bruised ego. Competitiveness had been woven into her from the minute she was born, being surrounded by a group of eager hunting dogs who all wished to show off to their master and friends. They were bred for giving their all into a hunt, and did so with a vengeance. The same thing was also true for the Clan- all of the dogs constantly fought over who had caught the biggest piece of fresh kill, and who was to eat it. Hunter's right was nonexistent in the Clan- even if you'd caught the large prey, it wasn't yours as soon as soon as it entered the fresh kill pile. It was the Clan's. And any hungry dog could help themselves to it. You had to be fast and furious to get a large piece, and could gloat to your friends (or enemies) about who had gotten the largest animal. Mayu was used to grappling for her food, feeling a small touch of inward smugness when she got it, and a touch of soreness when she didn't. If anything, her competitiveness had grown with her age.

Secondly, Mayu had just lost her prey to a handicapped male. The bitterness that came from this feeling was humiliation upon humiliation. Mayu didn't have a high regard for the strength or chivalry of the other gender, and was perhaps slightly prejudiced towards them. It couldn't be helped- the only two friends she'd had her life had been male, and she'd ended up playing the stereotypical weak female when it mattered most to them. Mao- Mayu's heart beat a little faster- had been protected and lead by his older sister for all of his life, even when he'd been an adult. Not near as much as in puppyhood, no. But he'd still managed to be stronger than his headstrong sister when Cain came after her. As for Alucard...!

Mayu stopped for second, shaking her head before heatedly going on. Besides, the male had also been handicapped- and dogs and humans alike didn't take well to being beaten by a random cripple. Mainly, however, meeting another male who showed signs of "chivalry" and "sympathy" to her just because she was female opened past wounds and failures, even if Mayu wasn't fully aware of it. Her two friends of past had helped her because she was a friend and a sibling, not a female. But another had been drawn to her female form for reasons other than stereotypical chivalry...

Lastly, Mayu had felt a small connection to the male when they were talking. Maybe it was the sliced eyelids, which showed signs of trouble and torture that many would never know- a bit like herself. Or maybe it was the fact that the hungry Mayu and crippled dog were going to be equally screwed in finding food. Maybe the dog hadn't been showing chivalry. Hell, maybe he was just being courteous in a way every decent dog would be to other strangers. He might have not even scented she was female, their encounter so brief. But Mayu couldn't help but be wary of random strangers. Particularly males.

She had reached her den. Snapping out of her anger for a moment, Mayu lifted her head and smelled the air. A thick and buzzing smell of a storm hit her nose. It was going to be a fierce one. She was lucky to have a den in this weather. But what about the male? Mayu thought about it for a moment. More than likely, he would be driven under a brush or bush for the storm, or maybe even out of the area if he was especially desperate for shelter. She probably wouldn't be seeing him again. Slightly cheered by the thought- but also feeling a bit odd- Mayu entered her den.

Outside, it began to rain.

XXX

As Bat felt the first raindrop, he knew he was in trouble.

There was a definite smell of storm here. Leaves were stirring and rolling across the ground, making little rustling noises as they did and hitting Bat's feet. The trees were the most audible, bending, shaking, and making a general racket of themselves. Bat had felt this sort of disturbance before. The movement and shaking of the trees and leaves were comparable to the ominous build-up that had occurred before the Ohu blizzard. Bat hadn't been thinking about the storm. He'd been thinking of the haphazard meeting between him and the irritable female. Dogs usually didn't go alone, after all. But his speculations about the stranger were cut short by the oncoming storm. The smell of rain grew stronger. A rain drop hit Bat on the cheek and trinkled down, to be followed by another to the muzzle.

Just as Bat decided he had better find shelter- and fast- the sky loosed a rumbling growl and began to pour down. Suddenly the air became totally filled with the sound of water hitting leaves and ground mercilessly with little to no break. Bat took off, feeling his fur get damp before the water slipped off the oily surface. Being a Labrador had its advantages. Running along, he realized he had no place to shelter himself from the rain- or even a basic lie of the land. As a result, he tripped over several low slung branches and bothersome snarled brush piles. But Bat had not been a General for nothing. As one of the chosen four by Hougen, he had possessed a wild and alert side that opened up to him when just thinking of things wouldn't help. In this state, Bat's body was ruled by his remaining senses- touch, smell, and sound. It led him to follow what his instincts told him without word thoughts to go with them... or a large amount of caution for some things.

Right now, Bat had allowed his wild state to take over. It made him follow a fading scent in the rain, one that he had encountered earlier, without really thinking about it. Dogs are naturally pack animals. They seek the companionship of other dogs, or occasionally other animals. Bat was staying true to this ancient instinct. And he had little idea of whose scent he had just decided to follow.

XXX

Mayu heard the rain patter outside her den. Indeed she felt lucky to have found a den in this area. Who would have guessed that a tree would have such a spacious hollow underneath it? Some might think it too big for her, indeed it was, but Mayu found the extra space comforting. Sometimes she would just stretch herself out, tossing and turning as she either had a restless night, or just soaking in the rays that managed to peek through on a good day. Today had been bad for the most part, but at least she had a place to rest, if not for the rumble that bugged her gut, then it would have been perfect. No matter, she would simply have to make up for hunting the next day. The rain always seemed to attack prey the following morning. She could already taste the plump rabbit flesh against her tongue, her teeth tearing into each bite…..Perfect, she just realized her mouth was watering now. So she put aside thoughts of rabbits and pheasants and attempted to go to sleep.

Even though her eyes were closed, she still hadn't fallen asleep. Occasionally she heard faint sounds outside, faint sounds of other animals fleeing for shelter. If she was a puppy, she would have found them eerie in their own way, but she was a full grown dog, things like that shouldn't scare her, and they didn't. Yet another sound reached her ears. Mayu ignored it for the most part, but it grew closer and heavier. Even with her eyes closed, Mayu felt something at the mouth of her den, the sound had stopped. Then Mayu heard another sound, breathing. Slowly Mayu opened her eyes, the heaviness that had set in fading away. The moment she opened them, she was met with a black bulk.

"What!" Mayu yelped, standing up in caution. Her sudden outburst had startled the black bulk as well.

Blinking Mayu could make out the blackness and a familiar scent had reached her nose. The dog in question held very familiar marking, two slice marks across his eyes.

"You again!" Mayu couldn't believe, it was the same crippled dog that had ruined her catch.

The dog looked at her, or at least sensed the general direction the female spoke from. His face held a confused bewilderment.

Mayu issued a low growl. "Are you stalking me or something!"

The question took the male by surprise. For a moment, it took him time to process who he was speaking to. Then it hit him, he recognized the voice and the scent had become clearer.

"Oh my apologies, I didn't know this was your den." The male apologized.

Mayu loosened her aggressive stance, those were honest words, she could just tell somehow. But it didn't explain why he was here.

"Fine, but if you don't mind this spot is taken," She would have said more, that is until she noticed something. The Labrador was completely soaked from paw to tail. The rain had started to really come down now, harder and harder still, a real torrential downpour. Even though the male tried to remain strong in the presence of a lady, Mayu saw a slight shiver from his body.

"I'm very sorry to bother you." The male turned to leave, back into the cold rain.

"Wait!" Mayu called after, and he stopped.

Why she did it, she didn't know. Maybe she felt sorry for him? He had shown a chivalrous display earlier, but maybe it attributed to another question she held. "Do you have anyplace to go?"

The male shook his head. That was it, something inside her told her this was a mistake, a male plus a female, well the scenarios and experiences with males gave her a hormone driven stereotype in her mind, save for her brother and friend. But it could have been the debilitating handicap the male presented.

"If you don't have any place to go, you can stay here," Mayu softened her body, but added, "just for tonight mind you."

That apparently was enough for the male. "Very well Maam, thank you." Mayu allowed the wet dog to enter. Respectively, he kept his distance from her, surprising Mayu herself. The male shook himself dry, albeit, he apparently took care not to get water everywhere in this dry den.

"This place is big enough for a family." The male suddenly spoke. Despite not having eyes, he could sense the large size of this place.

"Well I don't have any, now goodnight." Mayu briskly cut, she didn't want to be reminded of any family. Any she did have, were gone now. She didn't need somebody reminding her of something she didn't have.

Soon the both of them held no more words, Mayu drifted off to sleep, as did the male. For the first time since he had joined Ohu, Bat found his sleep restful. In fact he found this more restful than his first night in Ohu. But he didn't know why.

XXX

Mayu awoke to the smell of moist mist and wet leaves. Her vision still blurred, it took her a second to focus in on the scents. For a few minutes she lay there, staring at the mist that was swathed around the entrance of her den. The wet, smooth smell of it was far more strong than the image, and would have dulled most any other smells outside or inside the den… unless they happened to be extremely close. With a small jolt, her eyes focused in on the oily black fur that was to her far left. She felt her muscles tensing.

Mayu slowly and edgily lifted the front of her body off of the floor, her back legs following suit. As they awkwardly clambered up to finally have all of her body hoisted off of the ground, Mayu could feel some of her fur begin to stick up. The stranger. She'd forgotten entirely about him. But now she was remembering everything in detail. The reason she was so sluggish in getting up today was because she's spent half of her night in a light and restless sleep, trying to be ready at a second's notice if the stranger proved treacherous and decided to assault her. In the end, however, all he'd done was snore and snuffle lightly and continue to sleep soundly. Mayu, still not trusting him, had eventually divided the rest of her night into rough chunks of sleep, waking up at random intervals to check on her new roommate before slipping back into slumber, struggling against it all the way. As the night went by, her struggles had gradually lost strength, and she'd finally managed to fall asleep for the second half of the night.

And now here she was, staring at the dog who'd unintentionally caused her so much grief. For the moment, she didn't do anything. The mist had seeped some of its moisture into the den, it clinging in small droplets to anything in came in contact with. The stranger's black fur had its greasy air because of all the water that had condensed on it, and because his fur had repelled it afterwards. Water breeds. They all took on that oily and worn look whenever they'd gotten wet. More than likely, the stranger had webbed feet too, unless he was a mutt of some kind. Stirring in his sleep, the other dog shifted once before licking his nose and returning to his previous demeanor. Mayu suddenly felt a bit stupid, standing at the edge of her den like a frightened cat. It was her turf, wasn't it? _She _was the one who should be causing nervousness, not _him._ She tersely sat down, trying to shove away some of her nerves.

Outside, the mist grew thicker. Plants became coated in large water drops instead of the light dew they customarily had. Dead leaves slowly began to glue themselves to each other, continuing with their process of rotting, and mushrooms took hold. No one watched these things. Mist was annoying and mysterious enough to keep people and animals inside or prevented them from seeing things that they normally would have. The miniscule and sluggish cycle of mushrooms growing and leaves rotting was unnoticeable during the day, so why not in the mist? After all, people and animals who went outside had a tendency to brush by each other without noticing it. Sometimes this was for the better… or the worst.

Mayu fixed her eyes on the male's face. The slashed eyelids were his most prominent feature- two thin grey lines that cut down from the lower brow to underneath the eyes, neatly separating the eyelids into to parts. This was obviously what had left him blind, but, in return, had probably enhanced his other senses, which would explain how he'd neatly caught the rabbit and trailed her back to her den.

A dangerous asset in the mist.

Not being able to see would make him much more dangerous than usual in the clouded world outside the den. Mayu's chances at winning any fights would be docked in two. _At the most, _she stubbornly thought, scowling a little. She wasn't _that _inept. But still- a fight with this stranger in the mist was the last thing she wanted. And if she let him leave before the mist cleared up, he could easily set an ambush for her. If the mist stayed that long… and if the stranger possessed that guile.

Mayu couldn't help but admit that the stranger would have probably made his attack during the night instead of sleeping through it and waiting till they were both reenergized. Besides that, he'd looked genuinely sorry that he'd ran into her again. Maybe he just needed a place to sleep for the night, then would run off again. Mayu's stomach grumbled. "Oh, shut up," she growled at it, pawing at her belly. It never seemed to be full. The forest she was used to hunting in had had no brush piles or other prickly places for rabbits to hide in, or at least not in abundance. This place, on the other hand, was practically drowning in briar patches and scrapes made by wandering rabbits, not to mention abandoned burrows that every rabbit seemed to know like the back of their own paws. Hunting in this forest would take some time to get used to… even if Mayu had already been living here for around a month. She clawed her muzzle, clearing some dirt out of the corner of her eye. There had to be a way to get food in this place without skimping on meals like this all the time…..

Mayu's eyes fell on the stranger's face. A little light went off in her head. She'd just had an idea… one that could help feed her for the rest of the month, possibly the rest of the year.

Not that she liked it.

XXX

"….so you're saying you want to make a deal?"

"Take it or leave it. I don't do compromises."

Bat tilted his ears back critically. "Someone's certain of themselves," he said dryly.

Mayu's turn to look critical. "You're in no spot to be saying anything."

Bat paused for a moment, thinking. "….give me a few moments to consider the deal."

Mayu responded by coolly shifting her weight back further on her haunches, looking slightly impatient already. Bat could feel her cool attitude from where he was sitting, no vision needed. She certainly had a snappy way of saying things, and the tone of her demands said flatly that she was someone used to winning arguments. Someone who would be difficult to get along with if you didn't have enough of a backbone… and even then, getting along would be a bit tricky.

He considered his options.

The female- whose name was Mayu, as he had learned- had offered him a proposition. Bat had been mildly surprised that she hadn't just thrown him out of the den as soon as he'd woken up. When he'd awakened and got his bearings, he'd been able to hear her somewhat uneven breathing and a few rustling noises. She'd been awake before him. Bat didn't immediately get up and reveal he was awake. That could have bad consequences, especially since he had no idea who this dog was. Many a careless mutt had been killed from making a mistake like that. But all the same, she hadn't finished him off in his sleep, and much of Bat's paranoia from the days of Hougen and humans had been ebbed away by his stay at Ohu. She had been courteous enough to allow him to sleep one night here, though he was sure the hospitality wasn't going to extend any further or longer- particularly after he had snatched her meal out from under her nose. Accident or not, it was enough to tick any dog off, especially when they were hungry. No one liked having their prey stolen. Bat twitched one of his ears.

When he'd finally gotten up, the only greeting he'd gotten was a brief increase in heartbeat and a tint of tenseness in the atmosphere. He hadn't expected too much more, though it would have been pleasant. But he had gotten something he didn't expect. An offer.

He could gain much from it… food, certainly, maybe more or less than he was used to eating, and maybe a den…. But then again, he could be blindly walking straight into hell. Bat sensed the female- Mayu- getting more impatient. He didn't betray any of his thoughts with his face or demeanor.

"Let me get this straight. Your end of the deal is to allow me to live here and share a quarter of your prey."

"It's what I said, yes."

"But in return, I have to give you one-third of my prey."

"I don't bargain," Mayu said bluntly.

"I'm aware of that."

For a few seconds, the slashed eyelids and fierce black eyes stared other each down, daring one and other to relent or make a mistake. Bat knew he had no place to go, or any information about the lie of the land– at least, until he learned the main layout. Mayu knew she needed some help with filling her belly– at least, until she'd extracted the technique of hunting amongst common warrens and brush piles. There seemed to be one choice that needed made.

Bat flicked his thick tail. "Deal made."

Mayu licked the side of her mouth. "Deal made," she agreed.

_For now._

"Now you need to start paying off your rent for today."

"…wait, what?"


	11. Chapter 11

Mayu's deal had been in effect, for almost a month, several days shy and it would be a full one. Per the arranged deal, Bat would bring in prey, and offer one third of it to Mayu. Rent so to speak, if rent applied to dogs. In return, Bat himself would receive one half of Mayu's prey. In essence the deal was unfair. Bat knew that the moment the female divulged it to him. Nevertheless, Bat had no choice in the matter. Mayu made it clear she didn't make negotiations. In other words, "take it or leave it".

So he took it. Then the deal commenced.

At that moment, Bat went out hunting. He brought back a reasonable amount, only to have a portion of it given to the female. In going with the deal, Mayu brought back her own prey which was divided to the male. The first day went splendidly well without any complaint, at least all complaints were kept to oneself. Bat wasn't expecting this new little addition to his life. If anything he had imagined Mayu would kick him out after their first night, and he would be on his merry way, never seeing the female again. But now he couldn't bring himself to do that. He simply attributed it to simply upholding the deal the two of them had made. Although, he wondered if he would ever have followed through in the past, in all honesty he hadn't had much "deals" so to speak. Well no deal that didn't end in double-crosses. But those were events he tried to put to rest. He kept telling himself he was doing this for an advantage of having a home. At least he thought so, he could still feel another reason, a reason he couldn't place his paw on. So he ignored it. Best not to worry about something he couldn't understand.

"My, you certainly were busy today." Mayu noted the degree of catch that Bat had brought her.

Bat couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in the praise, and that he continued to uphold his part of the bargain, very well at that. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be enjoying most of it or rather one third of it would be going to the female, once more, per the deal.

Mayu gobbled down the meat, she didn't care that she appeared greedy. It wasn't as if her roommate could see anyway. Besides, she was hungry. The arrangement had worked well in her favor. The male did his part, and she kept herself fed. A steady supply of meat had come her way, filling her belly and silencing its grumbles. She had to give Bat credit. He was good at hunting land animals, where as she….not so much. That was one skill Mayu admittedly wasn't good at, nor was she afraid to admit so.

Yet as Mayu couldn't help herself, as she tore into the rabbit and squirrel carcasses, she noticed Bat's expression had changed. In all honesty, she never noticed much expression since she had known him, and it had been almost a month. She slowed her eating pace as a flush crossed over her face. Bat seemed to be looking away, in if she had to guess, discomfort.

"_But he can't see me._" Mayu reasoned with herself, polishing off the rest of her meal a a fastened pace.

"You know if you eat that fast you could get the hiccups." Bat noted.

Mayu felt a small spasm in her chest. No sound escaped, but she felt a small squeak in the back of her throat. "I was hungry." Mayu pardoned herself, "I swear you're going to get me fat off the prime meat you've been giving me." Mayu joked, with the hunting and movement she did, she held no worry about gaining weight. Nope, it would never happen, not in her lifetime. She would remain trim and skinny the rest of her days!

Bat smirked at her joke, any lingering thought of discomfort he held were now washed away as he started to eat the remnants of his prey. Mayu politely waited till Bat reduced them to nothing but bones. The male licked his chops for any pieces that hung to his muzzle and teeth.

"You know you could try bringing in some birds for a change." Mayu suddenly spoke.

Bat answered with a "hmm?" Although he couldn't see, he knew the female, Mayu was smirking at him.

"Come on it's time for a lesson." The female declared, flicking her tail.

"Lesson?" Bat responded in a quizzical tone.

Mayu smirked back at him, "Bird hunting of course. You're good at hunting on land but you stink at bird catching, trust me I know."

This caught Bat by surprise. Yet he knew she spoke the truth. He had tried to catch birds several times, but those result always ended in failure. Mayu had proof to her words as she had snuck away a few times to spy on Bat's hunting, well in the early days that is. At the start, she didn't quite trust that he would uphold their deal, and would simply run off. No big loss for her, at least back then, as she would have simply gone back to her normal routine. Now however she wouldn't like the sound of Bat departing, but she didn't know why. She had watched Bat tumble and fall and managed to suppress a giggle at the attempt. But he wouldn't help but feel sympathetic on some level. It truly made her sense his handicap. He had utilized it in a certain way, yet he wasn't useless. Bat still could function just as well as any other dog, perhaps even better in some cases. As one sense went, the others grew stronger. So Mayu had heard once. Nevertheless, his bird catching skills hadn't improved.

"There they are." Mayu whispered. She and Bat keeping their bodies low.

Sure enough, several partridges flocked. They couldn't sense the hidden dogs.

"Really it's all about stealth, speed, and step." Mayu recited her step by step list on how to catch birds. Bat listened, nodding in accordance to her words. "Hide yourself well, don't make a movement, you have to listen well, it's not just about sight, you have to smell and hear." Bat certainly could do that well. Bat didn't need his eyes to get a feel. He could feel the female getting ready, preparing herself for the strike. "Now for the speed." And Mayu was off!

Bat's mind's eye painted a picture for him. A female figure dashed across, the partridges flying the moment she appeared. Mayu kept her speed, her head straight in determination.

"Step." Bat repeated the last phrase. Certainly enough, Mayu sprang her legs. Bat could feel that new sensation vibrating into the soil. With her step, Mayu leapt into the air and caught a bird within her jaws. The other birds managed to get away as the dog descended with their fallen companion.

"Impressive." Bat admitted.

Mayu walked back to her roommate and delicately tore apart her half for him. "It's talent, nothing simple as that." She smiled.

Bat smiled back at her, unsure if the female was smiling back at him. "You seem to have a high opinion in your words." Bat went to his meal.

"When you're good, you're good my friend." Mayu spoke.

That was it, that was the emotion the both of them knew but didn't, friendship. They would not come out and say it, but they had gotten closer since their initial meeting. No longer did Mayu have any, or rather a large amount of distrust for the male, as she had before. Privately, Bat himself noted he enjoyed the female's company.

But the relationship would remain as it is. So they told themselves.

XXX

Food was scarce.

As the partridge scratched through the dry undergrowth, it didn't find a single seed or bug to satisfy itself. It cocked its small head, trying to spy a nibble of food with its beady eyes. Still, there was nothing. The bird swung its head around, cautiously observing the woods surrounding it. It was searching in the middle of a small depression in the forest floor which was surrounded by brown dead brush piles and covered with dead and decaying leaves, a scene that hid the partridge from some of the forest's more malicious eyes.

Despite the fact that there were no sounds of warning from the other forest creatures, it didn't mean there wasn't an enemy. Enemies were everywhere. They could be softly stalking through the leaves, peering from above, or padding from another direction. Those that were not cautious enough were always taken first. Even the small minded partridge knew this, and took care. But soon it returned to scratching at the ground, following the heed of its empty stomach.

A branched snapped behind it.

The partridge's head snapped up. Its feathers pressed closer against its body, losing the fluffy effect they'd held earlier. Something was about. It froze, hunkering down and remaining totally still. With its speckled feathers, it would blend in well with the dead leaves, providing camouflage from predators that would love to have a partridge snack. But the camouflage only helped when the bird was still unnoticed. For a moment, it moved its beak a fraction. Maybe…

The brush pile next to the bird exploded. As a four legged black blur shot from the torn brush, the small bird shot through the air, letting lose a panicking scream. The black creature's tail caught in the brush, catching it heavily off balance and sending it slamming into the ground right behind the terrified bird. Leaves from the newly picked over ground flew through the air. The partridge, still screaming its panicked call, winged through the air in a mass of wayward feathers and flapping. A few lose filaments floated to the ground.

The predator choked.

XXX

Bat felt a ringing and pounding sensation in his head. For a minute he was still on the ground, dazed, but then quickly jumped up to his feet. He's sworn he'd been on target that time! Bat spat out a cloying mixture of leaves and dirt. In his crash landing, he'd gotten a large amount of the loose ground into his mouth, and it left a disgusting, clingy taste behind. He opened his mouth wide, unrolling his tongue and pawing at his tongue. Dirt and leaf fragments still stuck to it and emitted their foul taste.

Bat felt disgusted and a bit angry. This was the third time he'd come upon a game bird and failed to catch it. The first two times had ended much the same way– a mouthful of dirt and a throbbing head. Bat's chest and back parts of his front legs already felt sore from crashing down on the ground twice before, and now the bottom of his jaw ached. He had known that leaping through the air to catch birds would be difficult, but not _this _difficult! Still, Bat kept his composure, trying to get rid of as much dirt on his tongue as possible. The last thing he needed was Miss Devil's Advocate to emerge from her vantage point and begin snickering at him, or give a little whistle at his failed jump. Mayu (his current teacher) was having a large amount of amusement at her adult pupil's suffering. She'd held down the laughter and snickering after the first disastrous attempt at bird catching, but hadn't bothered to on the second time. Now she was probably just wandering around the area of the woods, trying to catch her own prey. Thankfully she hadn't been around to see his newest f-

"Hey, Bat! Nice face plant!"

Bat inwardly choked harder.

XXX

Mayu was enjoying herself immensely.

It been a while since she'd had someone else with her that couldn't hunt birds worth a damn, and the sensation of trying to guide someone who couldn't do what she could was lifting her mood greatly. From her hiding place behind a dead bunch of poison oak vines, she could quite easily see Bat's every move– including his not-so-graceful leap and descent. It had to have been the funniest thing she'd seen all day.

Still snickering a little, Mayu trotted off into the woods, leaving Bat to compose himself and find another bird. She'd be trailing him, and would watch him make the fateful strike against his prey. So far, he was having much difficultly doing this. Poor Bat was just not good at catching birds. But he refused any help from Mayu, and the two friends ended up making the lessons a competition of sorts– if Bat could catch a game bird before the end of the day, he'd proved that he was decent at bird catching. If not, then Mayu could have a little smirking "I told you so" moment by the end of the day, and she'd have to help Bat catch the birds.

Needless to say, Bat was fighting a losing battle.

Mayu wound her way around a few trees, sniffing the ground and listening to the calls of the other forest inhabitants. She was much better than Bat at catching the scent of game birds, and seeing he was after the same thing, she just had to follow the scents to end up where Bat would eventually. Mayu nosed a small sapling, taking in the smell of a deer mouse and shrew.

Bat had become a good friend of hers. A very good friend. Friend.

Mayu shook her head. She suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. What was wrong with her? She'd never felt this kind of uncomfortable around Alucard or anyone else. Besides that, Bat was just a close friend of hers. He lived in the same den as her, for heaven's sake! A close friend, a roommate, and it wouldn't go further than that. In fact, why would she _want _it to go further than that? Both she and Bat were good friends now, sharing many things in common, and both having a competitive side to them. There was no reason to feel awkward about this. But still… Mayu couldn't help but wonder if she and Bat could've been something else. _Could _be something else.

She sidestepped around a small bush, clumsily following the trail of a grouse. Her senses would have been sharper if she'd been more focused. But yet each time she concentrated, she found it harder to quash down her wonders about her and Bat's relationship. Surely friends was the way to go, the way Mayu could still keep her wayward freedom and her fiery temper. Mates were always a controlling factor, they had always been, especially in the clan. Your life's luxury was controlled by your mate's rank, their strength, their cleverness. And Mayu didn't want that. Bat wouldn't control her, the fact that they were mates were.

Mayu's neck fur stood up a little bit. Of course, she and Bat would never be mates, just to make that clear. She needed his friendship, not his romantic involvement. And that weighed out the other one by a long shot.

The grouse's scent led to a small grove of maple trees, all closely knit together. Mayu carefully approached them, hearing several scratching and rustling noises coming from within. The noises stopped for a moment. Mayu froze, wary. After a brief pause, the rustling sounds kicked on again. With baited breath, she crept forward. Sure enough, walking around in the grove, there was a grouse. It kept cautiously peeking up from its foraging, making sure no one was sneaking up on it. After all, it lived a dangerous life.

Mayu carefully settled down on the ground, watching the bird. She was tempted to snatch it herself, but Bat would be here at any moment. And she wanted to see him eat dirt once more. For a few long minutes, nothing happened. The bird kept eating some fallen seeds and some shriveled wild grapes. Mayu was beginning to wonder if Bat had trailed another bird instead of the grouse she was now watching. And then he struck.

Bat lunged into the grove, open and ready to snap. In a flutter of movement, the grouse shot forward– running instead of taking flight! Bat's jaws closed on nothing, the bird running a jagged line before throwing itself into the air, and leaving the black Labrador behind it hopelessly frustrated and at loss.

Mayu groaned. She hated it when the birds ran instead of taking flight– it could surprise an inexperienced dog, and even throw off some unsuspecting professionals. Bat appeared to be taking it ridiculously hard, muzzle on the ground with paws over it. Mayu trotted out to sit next to him.

"Having some difficulties?"

Bat didn't raise his head.

"I said, _having some difficulties?"_

A small mumbling sound came from Bat's mouth. _God, _thought Mayu, _he IS taking it hard._

"…Bat?" she asked, curiously leaning forward.

"…my tuungth."

Mayu blinked. "What?"

Bat pulled his paws from his muzzle. "I sth bit a ole in my tungth."

For a few seconds, Mayu didn't know what was happening– till she saw Bat's tongue, red and raw looking on one part, and Bat looking like a miserable little pup. But when she _did _understand what was happening, and Bat sulkily getting up, her composure failed her.

"You… you bit a hole. In your tongue."

Bat looked at the odd expression on Mayu's face with no amusement. "Godd a poblem with at?"

Mayu snickered. "No, I don't. Do you 'godd a problem with at'?"

Bat narrowed his eyes, turning away and beginning to look for more birds. "Mayu, I hate ou."

Right then, the scene was too much for her. Bat, an adult dog, looked like a sulky and irritated little puppy, tender tongue hanging out of his mouth like a giant earthworm. Still, Mayu probably wouldn't have laughed… if Bat hadn't given her one last look and opened his mouth one last time.

"Ist not funnay."

Needless to say, Mayu's laughter followed him all the way to the next bird.

XXX

The rabbit ran with all of its strength. The poor creature could feel its lungs burning as its little heart pounded against its ribcage. Any more and it was sure it would break. It wouldn't slow down, they were right behind it. Two male dogs, adults, make and female, white and black, a Labrador and a Saluki, partners they were as they went against their prey.

"Keep running!" Bat commanded, or rather instructed to the female.

Mayu looked back to her male companion, or in this case teacher. "Right!" She spoke enthusiastically. The female quickened her pace, she wouldn't fail in this, she wasn't Bat. Not to say Bat was a failure, at catching land animals, he was the best. At least the best she had seen. Three months, three whole months they had known each other by now. Their deal had gone on since then, both of them keeping their promises and their bonds growing closer, bonds in friendship that is, and nothing more, so they told themselves. All that time, Mayu had yet to see Bat improve upon his bird catching. Each and every time he attempted, he would fall flat on his face, or get a mouthful of dirt and leaves. Honestly Mayu couldn't help but laugh at her friend's, key word on "friend's", failure. Not to be mean, but she found it odd that an adult like her would have trouble catching a simple bird. But bird catching wasn't something anyone could do. It all attributed to the blood. Mayu had inherited it, Bat hadn't. After another failure, Bat had challenged Mayu to try her hand at catching something on land. Mayu had remembered their first meeting, how she had the simple trouble of catching a rabbit, although in her defense, Bat had interrupted her hunt, but he was forgiven. She didn't want to appear hypocritical, and it was a matter of pride. Just as the birds feared her, so would the rabbits.

So the role of teacher had been switched from him to her. By far, she rated Bat as a good teacher. Rating her trying that is, she would give herself a C at best. Bat had experience in this, she hadn't. That was why she always stuck with birds, when she could that is. She would hunt land animals if she had a choice.

"Don't loose focus!" Bat chided.

Mayu shook her head she had immersed herself in her thoughts. She had been momentarily distracted by them, but resumed her attention to her prey.

"Keep it up! Go with all your breath!" Bat continued to coach. He had gotten closer to the rabbit. If he wanted he could snap his jaws into its neck. But it wasn't his to kill.

Mayu pressed on, feeling her heart beating against her chest. Her lungs were starting to burn. She had to make this quick. Further and further she continued onward, growing closer. The poor lagomorph drew its last breath at that point. Mayu twisted her body as she dove. Her jaws clamped down on its neck, and by the time she got back on her feet, the rabbit was dead.

Bat widened his sliced eyes in surprise, then flashed a smirk of pride. "Very nice." He congratulated.

With a mouthful, Mayu flashed her own grin. The student had surpassed the teacher as far as she was concerned.

XXX

It was a nice moon out that night. Mayu casually chewed on her twig. The day had been good so far. Everything had gone perfectly today. Nothing had gone wrong. Pride swelled in her at the memory of her catch. The moon reflected in the river before her. Why she had come here off all places she didn't know. Perhaps she came to look again for the white shape she had seen long ago. For a moment, she thought, "could it be him?" but she chided herself "The dead can't come back", as painful as it sounded, that was the truth of the world.

"You're going to wear your teeth down chewing on those."

Despite the warning, Mayu didn't stop her chewing. She liked what she liked. Bat sat himself down next to her. He knew Mayu didn't mind.

"I don't need a nag." Mayu replied.

"Just looking out for your health." Bat countered with the utmost truth.

They said nothing for the next few moments. "Thank you." Mayu finally cut the silence.

Bat turned his head down from the moon, although he couldn't see the sight, he could feel the light against him. "For what?" He asked.

The twig in her mouth only affected her speech slightly, but not enough to make it noticeable. "For teaching me how to hunt rabbits. Guess it's something else I'm good at." She joked with pride.

Bat gave a light hearted chuckle at his friend's accomplishment. He actually did feel pride. Well she was his friend, that's right friend. They both felt that way, yet somehow that word felt distant. "I should be thanking you." Bat spoke.

Mayu felt surprised at that, "Why?" She asked.

"For taking me in." Bat answered.

Oh that, Mayu realized he had never thanked her for that before, "It's nothing, I was only doing the decent thing, I mean you were out there" she looked at his face for a moment, man he looked good in the moonlight. It made his masculine features stand out. Likewise, Bat found himself turning towards Mayu's direction. Only in his mind could he paint the picture of the lovely dog, or so he assumed, no he knew she was lovely. Wait! Did he just think of her as lovely? Mayu stopped herself as well, had she thought of him as handsome. Hell he was! She could no longer deny that. She could feel herself blushing.

"It meant something to me." Bet responded, "any other dog could have just left me out in the cold."

"Well I know what it's like to be in your position, believe me." Mayu answered. She had not detailed everything about her past. Only that her mother disappeared when she was young, that and her brother's death. She didn't divulge any further because of the pain those memories brought. Bat didn't press them further, and she didn't to him. Some things were better left unsaid. They respected each other that much. "I thought I would like being alone." She admitted out of the blue.

"So do I." Bat countered

This response brought on another surprise, "I've wandered on my own for as long as I can remember," ill memories played back, pain, suffering, a flash went across his face, the day he became who he was.

"_Mama please!_" That voice he stifled down into his brain.

"But it led me to you." Bat spoke earnestly."

Mayu felt the twig in her mouth drop to the ground, as she moved closer to Bat. Bat hadn't noticed at first, but he could sense her growing closer.

"_Why is she?_"

"_Why am I?_"

Those questions asked themselves in perfect accordance. They couldn't deny it anymore.

"I think my life led to this moment, meeting you." Mayu admitted.

For the past three months, they had been trying to hide something from each other, their instincts. Male, female, they went hand in hand together. Closer their emotions had grown in the passing time they had known each other. It was only inevitable that this would happen. Now was the time to release it. What happened next under that starry sky could only be described in two words: pleasured ecstasy.

XXX

"…god damn it Ken, can't you stop bringing back small fry? I could've caught this in my sleep!"

"You couldn't catch this on a good day, bastard."

"Hey, you two! Shut up! We're trying to eat in peace over here!"

The speckled mutt snorted before turning back to his food. "Honestly, do those two never stop heckling each other?"

Another dog nearby took a bite of pheasant. "Tch, you'll get used to it. They get their tempers from their fathers, both of them."

"Oi, speaking of fathers, have you seen my old man around here?" The first speaker, a grayish dog with dark horizontal stripes running down his back, spoke up again. "He was supposed to be on the second patrol with some of the newbies, but he's late coming back. If he doesn't hurry this pig over here is going to his kill."

"Hey," the other dog, a tawny great dane, protested.

The white dog eating the pheasant stopped plucking feathers from its belly. "I'm sure Kurotora is just talking to some old war buddies. Some of Moss's original pack arrived earlier today, and no doubt they quickly found each other."

Kagetora groaned. "I might as well eat his food and be done with it; once he gets his teeth in a war story there's no stopping him."

Ken grinned. "Do that and he'll kick your ass."

Kagetora turned back to him. "Are you saying I'm not stronger than my old man?"

Ken narrowed his eyes playfully. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I guess Kai-Kens get weaker with every generation."

The speckled mutt rolled his eyes. "Here they go again," he muttered.

The bird eating dog just continuously plucked feathers from her pheasant skillfully, leaving them littered around her prey in several neat piles. "Ken, I wouldn't be taunting the next generation if I was you. When are you going to have me some grand puppies, hm?"

Ken took another bite of food. "Mom, _please._"

Kagetora bolted down some more of his prey. "It's not that he doesn't want puppies, it's that no female will go near him."

Ken tore off a strip of meat. "Well, I don't see you in company of any girls."

"I don't see you, either."

"Maybe because neither of you will shut up," the speckled dog shot at them.

Both Ken and Kagetora ignored him.

Cross merely chuckled and continued eating. She wasn't expecting any grand puppies soon.

Why would she?


	12. Chapter 12

Mayu had been feeling strange all week. She didn't really know how to describe it. She didn't feel sick exactly, but she just felt…strange. Was she coming down with something? No she already ruled out being sick. But what was this feeling. Something she did notice however, was she kept grooming her belly. She didn't know why, she just started doing it. A new habit she picked up as for some reason she stopped her twig chewing. Something about it didn't feel right, least not now. Odd seeing as it wasn't hazardous to her health. That is unless Bat's warning about wearing down her teeth. She didn't believe that though. Been chewing since she was a teenager and her teeth were as sharp as ever.

Another thing, she was hungry. That wasn't too strange as it was natural to become hungry, but this felt like a need, nay a want. Everything had began and ended with her belly. The feeling always came and went. It was so hard to describe.

She did have a suspicion though.

"No." She told herself that on a constant basis.

It couldn't be that. She had been careful and she didn't have any plans for that sort of thing. But had she been careful? She thought hard as she tried to discern her suspicion about her ailment. In fact she hoped this was merely hysteria out of…oh god she did. She and Bat…that night. Oh that night was one of passion. She didn't understand why it happened, or even how it happened. It just did. Bat, so handsome, so strong, so gentle, Mayu stopped herself. She couldn't think like that!

At last it hit her, there was no denying it. The feeling came again. She pawed at her belly, the one that would soon be round with life.

She remembered she hadn't seen Bat since this morning; she hadn't put a paw on it. She had just woken up and he was gone. Could he have known? Was that why he wasn't here? So many feelings welled up in her, joy, happiness, confusion, sadness, anger, fear. Yes, fear was the main emotion that surged through her being.

She had to find Bat, she had to. Sniffing the air, she could still smell the faint traces of his scent. There was still time to find him.

Before she darted off, she looked down at her stomach. "Don't worry, I'll make this right." She spoke to the unborn ones growing within.

XXX

Bat snapped his jaws shut. The bird gave a last squawk of breath as it dropped dead. The Labrador, gave himself a congratulatory smirk of pride. He had done it. Mayu's teachings had drilled into his brain, until he had accomplished what he set out. After trial and error, he had managed to pull it off. Although he wasn't up to Mayu's skill, he still had a vast margin of improvement to go by. Although with practice he could get better. Taking the bird in his jaws, he headed towards the direction of Mayu's, well their den. He didn't find anything odd referring it to his home as well. The further he walked, the more a scent reached his nose.

"_Mayu?_" He thought, as the scent grew stronger.

Sure enough, it was Mayu. Bat set down the bird, ready to show off his prize to his friend. Although with what happened the week before, it could have been more than that.

"BAT!" Mayu screeched.

Bat blinked in confusion, he didn't even have time to react as Mayu skidded right in front of him. "Mayu what-"

"Don't give me that innocent shit!" The female seethed, her face turned red underneath her fur and her breathing hissed through her teeth. "Did you think you could just run away!"

That statement further confused Bat. "Mayu."

"Oh I know what you're like, you came here just to pleasure yourself and then leave when you're done!" The female ranted, "So what? I was just some cheap thrill!"

"Mayu." Bat calmly responded.

"You think you can just walk away after what you did! Well go ahead! I got along fine and we can get along without you!"

"Mayu!" Bat had overlooked the "we" statement, but he had to calm her down somehow.

Mayu stopped, realizing she was letting her emotions get the better of her. But she had a good excuse. What with her condition and all. Her "condition", that made it all the more upsetting for her.

"Mayu tell me what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" Bat asked with more concern than anger.

The female breathed slowly as she realized. "_He doesn't know._" She thought. He really didn't know. "Bat." She said, the male drew in as Mayu lowered her head. "I think."

Mayu murmured the last bit under her breath.

"Mayu? Are you okay?" He pressed further in.

Why was he so calm? He couldn't be like this. Three months ago he was a total stranger to her. The feelings, mostly from the one in her gut spurred her to blurt it out. "I think I'm pregnant!"

Both their eyes widened at that reveal. Bat even gave a small gasp as his mind tried to wrap around it.

"But how? When?" Those were stupid questions. His mind thought back to a week ago, that night, those words, that passion. There was no doubt.

"Mayu I" Bat started, but Mayu pulled away. "Mayu!" He tried to stop her.

"Just go!" She pulled away as Bat tried to pull in closer.

"Mayu please listen! Just let me talk!" Bat pleaded.

"Shut up!" Mayu continued to pull away, tears were streaming down her face, "Just leave us alone!"

Bat wouldn't accept that answer, the more she pulled, the more he came in. "I'm not going to leave you!"

That exclamation made everything stop for her. Had he really just say that? This didn't make sense in her mind. Her mind tried to wrap around any possible trick or lie. Yet nothing came to such in her brain.

"I won't leave any of you." Bat proclaimed.

Somehow Mayu believed him. "I'm sorry." She apologized, just two words. Mayu calmed herself. "Everyone I love leaves me. I didn't plan on this." She admitted, it wasn't as if she didn't' want these puppies, she was frightened, scared for their well being. So far her life had been one huge smack in the face. Everything she loved torn from her, she didn't want to experience it again. Mayu felt a paw against her belly, it was Bat's. The mother to be accepted it; after all, these were caresses from the father of her children. Mayu felt a blush spread across her face as she sank into Bat's fur. His very touch and smell enticed her. He had become more than just a friend, he had become her husband. Likewise Bat felt the same way. He had just gained a wife and a family.

"We'll raise these puppies together." He whispered into her ear.

"Together?" She said in surprise, within it, happiness permeated the tone. She nuzzled into him, "Together." At least she stated with emotion.

The two mates could feel the love that surrounded them, the love that they had created. A rather loud grumble sprang up from her stomach. "I guess they're hungry." She sheepishly smiled.

Bat grinned back at her. "I brought you a present." He turned to the bird, his proud catch. He had to be proud, after all, a father had to provide. Once Mayu saw that bird, she dove on it and tore away. One week down, eight to go.

XXX

This was pure hell. End of discussion. End of _any_ discussion. Mayu had undergone various tortures at the jaws of the Clan, and on her own, but _nothing _could be compared to this. There was nothing so annoying, nothing so painful, nothing so _spiteful _as this.

Mayu groaned as another wave of hunger hit her. It was another craving, another want for food. Bat was already out hunting for both of them, but unless he had a humungous spike in ability improvement, he certainly wasn't going to be bring back enough prey to fill both of their bellies completely. Mayu got to her feet from where she had been laying in the mouth of the den. She wasn't at the point where hunting the swift prey here was next to impossible, but there was no way she could catch a young rabbit. Her belly had grown larger, plumper, and it felt like someone was slowly and carefully adding another weight inside it every day. She could still defend herself, though, and still hunted some while Bat was away. Walking out of the den, Mayu sniffed the air. Damp leaves and the odd smell of uprooted fungi met her nose. No doubt some foraging mouse had come near their den in search of tasty mushrooms to eat, only to pay heed to its nose's warning after the delicacies had been dug up and consumed. Mayu may have been slower, but she could handle a mouse. And it would take the edge of her hunger.

She trotted along, following her nose. Some crushed and overturned leaves spoke of a small animal passing by. Maybe a squirrel instead of a deer mouse. _Hell, don't tell me pregnancy is ruining my nose too, _Mayu mentally swore. _This crap just keeps getting better. _Mayu sighed angrily. Was she looking forward to having her puppies and family? Yes. Was she looking forward to another week of pregnancy? No. Mayu had never paid much attention to the pregnant dogs of the Clan, ignoring them. In fact, it had been quite while since she'd even thought of the Clan. It was over and done with, after all. She shook the thought away. Still… had she ever seen them in visible annoyance and irritancy with their pre-born "bundles of joy"?

_They're certainly not a joy when they're bundles in here, _Mayu thought bitterly. She'd never fully thought of how much being pregnant would limit her hunting skills, or cause her hunger. She definitely hadn't planned to get pregnant, either. But Bat had changed things. The leaves were now more scattered, more broken and uprooted. Definitely a squirrel of some sort. Mayu followed the trail as it wound around several different trees and brush piles, making a haphazard zigzag. This was her third week of pregnancy. Bat had been helping her through it as much as possible, but he could only do so much. Still, she had to give him credit, seeing he knew next to nothing about pregnancy other than the puppies grew inside her and were born eight weeks later, and was still helping her.

Mayu followed the squirrel's trail, sniffing the whole way. The earthen smell of acorns, the way dark woodland dirt smelled under the wet or compressed leaves… it was all a welcoming, home smelling scent that invoked her predatory instincts. On any other day, she would have been springing and prancing about the entire time. (Out of Bat's sight of course, no one needed to see her gambol about like a pup.) But today, she just didn't feel like it. All the same, she got in a few springy steps. The scent of the squirrel was getting stronger. More recent. Mayu tried to make her steps more careful, and tested the wind. The way it was blowing, it shouldn't reveal her smell.

She continued to stalk the trail of the squirrel. Suddenly, Mayu heard faint scratching noises. The animal was somewhere up ahead. All she had to do now was sneak up on it, make a dash when it finally noticed her, and hopefully crush its spinal chord in one bite. If that didn't work, then a vigorous shaking always did. Mayu carefully walked forward. The squirrel would soon be in her line of vision– and biting. There was some more rustling. Mayu now had visual on the squirrel. A thin sapling had been blocking her view before. The small animal was now totally absorbed in digging for acorns, jerking its little head around now and then to observe its surroundings, bushy tail twitching. Mayu crept forward. The squirrel turned away from her, still blissfully unaware.

She stepped on a twig. With small crack, it broke under her foot. Mayu froze as the squirrel suddenly sat up, sharply turning towards the noise. There was a brief period of silence. Mayu was still hidden, belly almost to the ground, behind a tree. The squirrel didn't see her. Slowly and carefully, Mayu pulled herself up as the squirrel went back to its business. Unknown to her, the squirrel was an old one. He'd been through many a year in the forest, foraging, climbing and spreading his species. But now his time was up. Age had silvered his fur and slowed his limbs, taking tolls on his hearing and smell. A young squirrel would have already seen Mayu and ran up the side of a tree. Not so with this fellow. Mayu stalked closer, almost in biting range. And the squirrel buried his last acorn.

"CAAAW! CAAAAW!" A crow above them screamed, obnoxious voice echoing through the trees. Mayu lunged, jaws open and paws ready to pin the squirrel. And the squirrel… promptly ran up the nearest tree, leaving Mayu to hit the ground. "CAAAW! CAAAW!" Several other crows screamed. Mayu got up, working her jaw painfully. She swore at a few of the crows. "Blasted feather balls!" The crows were well known to be the watchmen of the forest, screaming whenever they sensed danger. Or sometimes just screaming because they wanted to scream. Or because they were really just jerks in general. "CAAAW! CAAAAW!" Mayu narrowed her eyes. They were taunting her, and she knew it.

"COME DOWN HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU FILTHY LITTLE WINGED RATS!"

No response. The entire forest quieted. Mayu sucked in a breath. "I thought so."

She turned to leave, walking back to the den.

"…caw."

"DAM-"

XXX

In a nearby beech tree, an old squirrel stopped climbing. He jumped out onto a branch, observing the blue hole of sky where the trees' branches pulled back. The crows had come through there, most likely driven by the prospect of hunters. Some of the more casual tree stand or ground blind hunters often put out bait for deer, usually corn or salt blocks. There was a large amount of hunters a ten miles from here, and the crows had eaten their bait, only leaving when a few of them were shot out of the air. They'd then decided to come try their chances here. There wasn't that much baiting around Futago Pass, a small mountain range around fifteen miles from here, seeing most of things you'd get from baiting were just bears. And quite frankly, no one liked to find bears. The squirrel happily looked up the sky. It had lived another day, due to some luck and some birds. It was a good thing aerial creatures were drawn by less dense areas like this. After all, without them, he'd have died.

A hawk promptly swooped through another open spot in the trees, snatching the squirrel from its perch.

XXX

Bat stared at Mayu. Though he really couldn't see her, he could definitely hear her consuming the prey. Bones snapping, slurping, meat tearing, and tufts of fur hitting the floor. Bat sneezed as a particularly big patch hit his nose. "Aren't you going to slow down a bit?"

There was a few more crunching noises. "No." Bat heard the crunching continue. He was very glad he'd eaten while he was out hunting, even if Mayu was going to save him a few pieces of fresh kill. You could tell whenever she'd moved on to a new prey– there would be lots of ripping and tearing noises as she shucked the skin off of the animal in order to better get at the meat. So far, Bat had heard four shucking noises, counting the one squirrel she'd caught. This was the third rabbit she was on now.

"Ou godd lucky toway," Mayu remarked, swallowing down some thigh meat. "Was there a lot of these things about?"

"You could say so," Bat answered. He'd found many the rabbits living in shallow scrapes under a brush pile. Six young male rabbits, all with the harassed look and feel of yearlings, had ran away from the main den. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong place and time to do it. Since male rabbits never dug the tunnels and burrows unless they were helping out their pregnant does– who did all the tunnel work– they'd been living in the equivalent of temporary bachelor pads. It'd taken some work to kill them and drag them from their scrapes– two of the wiser rabbits had escaped– but the rest of them had been paralyzed with fear. It hadn't taken too much effort to dig out the last two from their shallow residences and break their necks.

Besides that, he'd found a dead fawn, a blessing in itself. After eating some of it, he'd brought back a good amount meat from it. Which Mayu had promptly scarfed down half of. Even if she was now showing signs of filling up, her eating speed was the same.

"Who's doing the eating? You or the dozen puppies in your belly?" Bat asked dryly. Mayu finished the rabbit, leaving the last one and half of the fawn meat to Bat. "Both."

She yawned, stretching her jaws. "I'm full now." Bat tore off some of the deer meat. "Finally. And I thought you didn't like eating the rabbit's head area."

"Tastes and times are changing."

Mayu hiccupped. "Thanks for the *hic* meal."

Bat raised his (non-existent) eyebrows. Mayu saw the expression on his face. "What are you *hic* looking at me like that for? *hic*"

"…I told you to slow down when you were eating."

Mayu snorted. "Oh, please. Just get back to eating your food."

Bat ripped off some fawn meat, eating it. There was complete silence except for the sound of him eating… mostly.

"*hic*!"

Bat continued to eat. He didn't say anything to Mayu– just cocked his ears.

"*hic*!"

Mayu was now trying to clench her teeth. It didn't work.

"*hic hic*!"

Bat stopped eating, pausing to lick his muzzle. He began to open his mouth.

"Don't you *hic* dare say *hic* _anything._" Mayu said menacingly. Bat simply licked his muzzle a few times and went back to eating.

"*hic*!"

"Try holding your breath," Bat suggested. He sensed Mayu was on the verge of snapping or saying something, whichever came first.

"Fine," Mayu said grudgingly. "For *hic hic* how *hic hic* long?"

"I don't know; maybe a minute or two?"

"I *hic*–"

"Okay, make that thirty seconds."

Mayu screwed up her face in concentration, taking in a mouthful of air. Bat could tell it was a big one, able to hear her huge inhale. When she finally stopped inhaling air, there was complete silence. Bat wished he was able to see the scene playing out before him. He may have been able to hear Mayu when she was taking in air, but he couldn't see the stages of concentration and frustration on her face when she wasn't talking. For around seventeen seconds, there was no noise whatsoever. Bat didn't try to keep eating his food. But right around the seventeen mark, Mayu made a choking sound. Bat's ears perked up more than before. _Time's ticking. _

They reached the twenty mark. There was a few more choking noises. Bat had never wanted to see Mayu's face so much.

Twenty one.

Choking noises louder than the first time.

Twenty two.

Bat wasn't sure how this was going to end.

Twenty three.

How did Mayu get hiccups in the first place?

Twenty four.

Probably from eating so much so fast.

Twenty five.

"Gargilguh," Mayu made a few odd noises.

Twenty six.

Bat decided that if the hiccup cure didn't work, it would be best to get out the den as fast as possible when Mayu decided to extract her revenge.

Twenty seven.

Only three seconds lift.

Twenty eight.

The results to this, Bat decided, would be quite interesting.

Twenty nine.

Result time.

Thirty.

Mayu let all of the air out noisily. "Phew!"

Bat waited for a second. "Are the hiccups gone?"

Mayu waited a second, licking her nose and scratching her ear. "I think so," she responded. "The darn things are finally gone."

"Nice to hear," Bat said. He started to skin the rabbit. No doubt Mayu wouldn't have been very happy had the cure not worked, or, even worse, backfired! Well, at least he wasn't _that _unlucky.

"Argh," Mayu said.

Bat stopped skinning the rabbit for a second. "What?"

"I'm not *hic* sure."

Both of the adult dogs looked at each other.

"Bat…" Mayu slowly said.

Bat got up, cautiously getting closer to the den entrance.

"***hic***!" Mayu hiccupped. She shook her head. "I *hic hic* thought *h-h-hic* you sa–*hic*–id that it ***hic*** would *hic* work!"

"I thought it would!" Bat said remorsefully.

"You *hic hic* had better ***hic* **_run _*hic* before *hic* I–*hic hic hic*"

Bat didn't bother to wait and hear what Mayu was going to do to him if she got a hold of him. He just followed the first part of her words, and split out from the den, not bothering to pick up the rabbit.

_Well, _he thought, _at least I'll be able to know where she is._

XXX

**Week Nine:**

Mayu felt like a bloated ball. Then again, she was. How much more of this could one take? Her belly sagged, rounding it her sides. Another hunger pang struck her. Sometimes it felt like she had a bottomless pit in place of a stomach. Just how many puppies were inside her? It felt like she was feeding an army sometimes. She rose to her feet with a groan. She had to stretch herself. She couldn't stay cooped up inside all day. Although if Bat knew she was getting up, he would make her get back in the den. She knew he just cared about her and their children, but she wasn't helpless, and all this sitting around was making her fat.

Not that it would matter; it was far too late to stop that. She just hoped this weight didn't stick. With a wobble she rose, and waddled her way outside. The weather was good and a nice breeze blew past her. For a moment, Mayu thought it was a caress. Then she felt it, movement in her belly, several patters that is.

Mayu smiled and chuckled. This was one of the finest parts of pregnancy in her opinion. Well that and having a male wait on you paw and foot, which actually was pretty sweet.

"How about giving your poor mother a break?" She patted her orb with her paw. Her response was more kicking. "Let's just get some water in there. You must be thirsty." She herself was as well. The stream wasn't that far, so she didn't think it would be a problem to get her family a drink, as well as herself. Despite her size, Bat always told her she was beautiful. She always pointed out that he couldn't see her. But being the faithful husband he was, he always replied,

"I don't need eyes to see that you're beautiful."

Sappy, but it made her feel good. No one had ever loved her this much, outside her friends, brother and her own…. she wouldn't think of that female. Probably shouldn't have thought of the brother. How could Mao have reacted? He would have to be happy, of course he would, she knew him. Despite the Uncle Mao joke they had made amongst each other. Uncle Mao did have a nice ring to it. Mao would have been an excellent uncle, paws down. If only they had escaped together, he would be with the family now, playing with the puppies, as they covered him and licked his body. The mental image was heartwarming and funny at the same time. Then there was Cross, how would she have reacted to being a grandmother? Mayu had let her mind win as she thought of the ones whom she had lost. To be honest, her memories of her mother had started to slip away, at least almost, the face was always blurred and her voice far off, at least sometimes. She never tried to think about it much. Mao was obvious but Cross always made her questionable. Why would she worry about someone who was dead? Cross had to be dead. There could be no other alternative. Could there?

The only other alternative would be…she choked on the water. A cough broke out from her throat. Another feeling sprang up from belly. The feeling was pain.

"Ow." She exclaimed. The pain made her double over. It continuously came as the kicks and movement increased. It was time. "Please hold on!" She pleaded with her babies. Of course the unborn ones couldn't help it. It was their time to be born. Mayu struggled to reach the den, she was about halfway there. Another shot hit her, these puppies really wanted out.

The pain spiked her emotions ever wildly, she needed help, only one came to mind. "BAT!" the cry echoed.

XXX

Bat delicately carried the bird in his mouth. A repeat occasion as it reminded him of when he first heard the news. Fatherhood, he still could believe it. He hadn't planned on becoming a father; the thought of mating with a female had never crossed his mind. That notion had been a useless idea to him in the past, and he never really thought much of puppies. Now that he had some of his own on the way, it would be a huge change he had to say that. Now he could see that leaving Ohu had been for the best. In fact the best choice in his life as it had brought him happiness. Something that he wouldn't have had under Hougan's rule, and something he had been given half heartedly within Ohu. All he had to do was return this bird to Mayu and…..

"BAT!"

The sound made him drop the bird. That sound, he had a good guess as to why his wife would shout out so loud.

"Mayu!" He called back, breaking off into a run. This time he didn't bother bringing the bird.

XXX

Mayu struggled as she tried to fight the pain. It wouldn't matter, these puppies wanted out, and they wanted out now.

"Bat." She called weakly. She didn't want to give birth alone, or out in the open.

"Mayu!" She had been heard. She looked to see the black image of her mate running towards her. "Mayu! Are you alright!" He asked concernedly.

He really did care about her, about them. Mayu had realized that several times but this further served more confirmation. "The puppies!" She breathed.

Bat flinched, he had to act fast. Helping Mayu to her feet, they managed to make their way to their den. Within the nine weeks, she and bat had lined the den with anything soft in preparation for the birth. However it was really for the puppies, it didn't help the pain she currently felt.

"Push Mayu." Bat soothed her.

Mayu struggled as the pain shot through her. This was the hardest thing she had ever done in her entire life. "I-I can't do this!" She quickly said.

"Yes you can! I'm here with you!" Bat attempted to calm his mate.

Mayu knew she had to do this. She had survived her childhood, lived through every beating and fight they had put her through. Life had used her as its whipping girl, but she had fought back every time. Mayu breathed and pushed. The pain was immense. Childbirth was easier said than done, but so many females had done it before and she sure as hell would be one of them. The pain, breathing, Bat's support, this went on for who knows how long. Honestly, Mayu lost count. Then out of all those sensations, she felt movement. It was as if something had popped out. A tiny squeak of a bark followed it.

"One." She spoke to herself.

Another plop of release soon followed after the same process. "Two." The pain had started to subside as she felt one final plop, "Three." She added tiredly. That was it, it was done. A chorus of tiny yips and barks reached her ears, and she looked down, her tongue panting out, to see the most gorgeous sight she had ever seen. Three tiny bundles of black fur were busy nestling themselves into their mother's belly feeding off the milk.

"Bat." Mayu looked up at her mate who merely held his head high with pride. Their eyes met as Mayu felt something, tears. "I did it." Bat looked down at the sight, of course he could only hear his children, but he could still sense their prescience. He licked Mayu across the face and she returned it.

"So what do we have?" Bat asked.

Mayu looked down at her new family. She still couldn't believe it. Each little one was gorgeous to her. But they had to know their genders. She looked to her right and saw one of the pup's furiously suckling, this little one seemed more intent on feeding than the others. "So you're the reason I was so hungry." The pup didn't answer being too young to speak. It simply pulled away from its mother's teat and gave a tiny burp, then went right back to eating. Closer inspection, Mayu could see it was a male. The male looked just like her, except he had his father's black fur. Well save for a white underbelly. This one was the eldest. Beside him came a bark of protest from the middle child. A young Labrador with the same colorization of its brother, yet with an additional white dot on its lower back. The Labrador hybrid's bark was directed towards its older brother. It seemed her son, the Saluki mix, was actually trying to grab both teats at once. This didn't sit well with his… sister. Mayu had a daughter. Lastly her eyes fell upon the pup at her left, the one who kept out of his brother and sister's argument. The pup was a male, her little boy, but unlike his siblings, he neither had the appearance of a Saluki or a Labrador, but a masterful mixture between the two. Additionally his fur was jet black, not a single speck of white on him.

"Well?" Bat asked with impatient excitement.

Mayu chuckled; she would be the same in his position. "You have two sons and a daughter, darling."

Bat raised his non existent eyebrows in surprise, and then lowered them as he felt the pride swell within him, almost till he felt ready to burst. He reached his head down, getting a feel and sense for his children. It seemed as if he could identify each one. "We should give them names."

That was true; they couldn't just call them nothing now. Mayu's eyes first fell upon her eldest, who had given up trying to steal his sister's meal. "Hmm well how about?" Mayu thought hard. This actually proved less difficult than the birth, but she wanted her children to have names. She had never been given a name at birth, but she would make sure her own children would. "Wing." She announced.

"Wing?" Bat repeated, then grinned, "I like it." It actually went well with his father's name. Next came the girl. "Mayu wanted something close to her own name, so she thought up any names starting with the letter m. She went over several in her mind until she stopped at one that fit well. "Mina." Bat seemed to approve as he gave another sniff towards his daughter. Last but not least was the little one. No brainer there, with his colorization, there could be only one fitting name. "Kuro." Mayu added lovingly.

Wing, Mina, and Kuro. Their children had been named. At last they were a family. Bat kept a close eye on the den entrance as Mayu drifted off into a rest. He would make sure no harm came to his new family. Soon the rest of the pups drifted off to sleep. Mina first, Wing followed after he had gotten a large dose of milk making him look quite plump as he settled down. Kuro, on the other hand, was the last to fall asleep. The little pup turned to the den entrance and gave a few barks. Bat stood on alert as he wondered what his son could sense. Then Kuro quieted and joined his siblings and mother.

Outside something watched, a white saluki looked over the family den. He had been there when Mayu had given birth, his niece and nephews. Mao smiled even as a trail of blood ran down from his eyelids and from the open wound in his chest. Then he vanished altogether. This was a time for the living, not the dead.


	13. Chapter 13

25 DAYS LATER

XXX

The black scraps of dust on small, twig like legs were alive.

He squealed with joy and surprise as they ran, creeping into cracks in the rocks. Were they gone? Or just hidden? He pawed at the sharp grey rocks, trying to get them to widen. Nothing happened. Annoyed and curious (mostly curious) he stuck his slick little wet nose into the crack. He sniffed, feeling some rock dust get inside his nose. But there was no more walking dust, only the smell of his mom, dad, and siblings splattered across the walls. He was used to this by now. Every time he rolled or jumped, his smell was also smeared around the den. His nose began to itch furiously with rock dust, making him suck in several short breathes.

"Ah… ah… achoo!"

A tiny, high pitched sneeze echoed around the den. The sneeze left the same black puppy sitting the ground, with a very frank look his face. Sniffing and snorting a few more times, he decided that was enough dust ball chasing today. He could always try it later, and maybe outside. Where there was less dust.

"Kuro! Come here!"

His mother's sharp voice came from outside the den. Kuro swiftly scrambled up from his seat, little claws scrabbling as they failed to find any friction on the smooth rock floor. Tumbling over again, Kuro pulled himself up, tiny ears flopping.

"Momma!" he yelped, running out of the den and into the bright sun. Momma did not like to be left waiting. If he didn't come, then she would come pick him up by his scruff and carry him out, scolding all the way. Being picked up didn't hurt, but then Mina and Wing made fun of him. And it wouldn't do for them to mock him over chasing dust balls with legs.

XXX

"Where is that pup?" Mayu clicked her teeth impatiently. She, Bat, and the other two puppies were sitting around in a sun dappled clearing underneath a grove of trees. Bat was relaxing, laying out on his side and sunning. However, he didn't put his head on the ground, as it required a lot of vigilance to watch the active bundles of fur. Near him, Wing and Mina tussled in a play fight. They bit at each other with tiny sharp teeth, growling shrill, whiny growls. Every now and then, they'd quit biting at each other and pounce on nearby leaves, tossing them about. After the fearsome leaf enemies had been destroyed, the two would turn their attention back to either other and begin biting once more.

Kuro had been missing for several minutes, and Mayu had decided he'd spent too much time away from her sight and Bat's ears. Despite being the more timid one of his siblings, you could never tell what mischief pups would get into when left to their own curious devices. Wing, for instance, had to be watched at all times or he'd go off and get himself lost. Exploring was good for the puppies– it showed that they were growing up– but there were too many coyotes and foxes in the area for Mayu's taste. Bat had caught wind of their stinking scents many a time when he'd been hunting; so had Mayu, but they hadn't bothered them. Vulnerable puppies, on the other hand…

"He's around the den. I can hear him coming now," Bat said to Mayu, trying to lift his ears out of Wing's reach.

"He had better come," Mayu remarked. "Kuro may be the best behaved out of this bunch, but he's still a trouble maker in his own right."

"All pups are," Bat replied. Wing had grabbed one of his ears, and Mina had grabbed the other. They were growling and snarling up a storm, and Bat raising his head simply made them bite down harder. Both of them looked like persistent little fleas, their miniature tails and paws barely brushing the ground. Bat gave them a small warning growl when they began to bite harder.

"Let go of your father's ears," Mayu snapped at them. Mina, hearing the command in her mother's voice, let loose and dropped to the ground. She shook her head once before beginning to attack a blade of dead grass, jumping about like a cat on a toy mouse. Wing, on the other hand, simply growled louder and bit in deeper. Mayu sighed, an un-amused look on her face. "He doesn't listen at all. You want me to come over and pull him off?"

"No, I've got it," Bat responded, growling slightly at Wing. He pulled his lips back a fraction, an action that plainly said, _You, little pup, need to stop. _Wing did nothing but stop his growling. He still kept his teeth set in Bat's ear. Just as Bat was about to give him a small nip on the belly to make him let loose, Kuro waddled out of the trees. Mayu turned to him.

"Come here, Kuro. Where've you been? The den? You should know to stick with your brother and sister. No, don't start to whine. Just come here so momma can pull a burr out of your ear. Hmm… a bit deep in there, isn't it? Never mind. I'll just give you a bath while you're here. Quit your squirming, you."

Bat finally had had enough of Wing hanging from his ear. He reached over and snapped at Wing's tender little underbelly, causing him to yelp and let loose. The snap hadn't hurt Wing; at least, not very much, but it was the dog equivalent of a small scolding. Puppies needed to learn where their boundaries were when they were very small, as the scolding snaps would get stronger with every week they aged.

Wing didn't spend much time sulking, however. He soon set his eyes on another target to antagonize– his brother. In a few energized bounces and prances, he'd come over to Mayu and began biting at his pinned down sibling. It was bad timing for both of them.

Mayu stopped thoroughly licking Kuro long enough to grab Wing by his scruff.

"You, little troublemaker. Come here. Since you have enough time to harass your brother, you have enough time for a bath."

Wing whimpered miserably. Mayu wasn't having any of it.

"I've heard _that one _before, you little terror. Now hold still. The more you struggle, the longer and worse the bath."

Wing hopefully looked towards Bat, trying to catch his father's attention.

"No," said Bat, as Mina pirouetted around his paws, playfully giving them a few bites and growls, "you do need a bath. You'd have gotten one sooner or later either way." Kuro fitfully squirmed in an attempt to wrest himself from his mother's iron grip.

Wing narrowed his small eyes. This was his father's revenge for something, he just knew it. He made a promise to give his dad a few bites on the tail after his bath was over. Kuro finally managed to struggle free, falling over his mother's leg face first. Mina gave a few joyful barks at her brother's face plant, tumbling and gamboling between Bat's outspread front legs. She paused to give her a father a few halfhearted snaps under the chin. He didn't seem to mind, just raising his head up. There was no scolding snarl from him. Wing growled, a high pitched tumble of pebbles in his throat. Playing favorites indeed! How did Mina get a few snaps in without being growled at? _He _didn't get the same treatment!

Wing's sulking fit was cut short when a sudden wet weight pressed against the back of his head. His little head was pulled forward and back by the movement, a tuft of his fur sticking up on the back of his head. Mayu licked him again, his beady little ears bulging out. "Hold still, darnit. This is just the beginning, Wing. Struggle later," she scolded.

Bat observed from a distance. "Dear, I may not be able to see, but don't you think you're licking him too hard?"

"Nonsense," Mayu scoffed. "He won't get a proper cleaning if I don't go easy on him, will he? By the way, I see you Kuro. Hiding behind your dad won't exclude you from the cleaning."

Kuro whimpered, crouching behind Bat's back further.

Mina simply smirked.

XXX

The bath had gone without much consequence. Wing and Kuro had gotten their baths, not that they much cared for it. Mina on the other hand was a perfect little lady, although her brothers knew she didn't like the pinning as well. She was just putting on a show for her parents. After that, the family returned to their home. Wing of course attempted to pay his father back via tail bites, although Bat was keen to his son's attempts. Wing pouted silently all the way home. He never got what he wanted! At least he thought so compared to his brother and sister. Those two always got special treatment. Mina was a daddy's girl, and Kuro was a momma's boy. A grumbling chorus of stomachs signified it was time to catch dinner. Bat knew it was his turn to catch something, while Mayu remained home with the children.

"Dad I wanna go!" Wing immediately whined.

Now out of all the puppy stomachs that growled, Wing's growled the largest.

"No Wing." Bat refused, "You stay with your mother."

Wing however wouldn't take no for an answer. "But I'm hungry noooooooooowwwwwww!" He whined even louder. Ever since he was born, Wing had a large appetite, so large it was unbelievable. It had simply started with his mother's milk. Wing would feed until his little tummy bloated, and now that he was weaned to meat, it had gotten worse.

"Why don't you let him go Bat?" Mayu suggested.

"What?" Bat said in surprise, yet he quickly caught on to his wife's tone. Both knew Wing would constantly whine till his appetite was stated. Mina and Kuro were already playing around till dinner arrived, and with Wing it would get even worse. This way it would be less of a headache for her. Bat was more than happy to give his wife a hand…or paw in this case.

Sighing, Bat finally relented. "Fine, come along son." Wing happily trotted over to his father, licking his chops in anticipation.

His pleased face was met with much displeasure as Mayu licked her son across the face, then her husband. "Both of you be careful."

Bat grinned and answered his mates lick.

"Come on let's go!" Wing pranced around impatiently. The little pup and his father soon left off into the woods, leaving Mayu to contend with the remaining litter. Suddenly she felt like a twig.

XXX

Bat stalked carefully through the foliage, or rather he would if not for the fact his on was talking up a storm. "Oh wow! I can't believe we're actually going hunting! Are we going to catch a rabbit Dad? No wait a hawk! No wait a bear!" Wing listed excitedly, and hungrily, all the animal choices of prey. Bat found it both amusing and annoying at the same time, amusing that his son had such enthusiasm towards hunting. That itself could be a good sign of being a good hunter, keeping his mind open as he prepared for the days he would fully be able to take down something large. Bat could foresee the pride of that day. He supposed every father would feel that way about their children, and anticipated it.

However annoying also factored in, what with Wing's incessant chattering, it would be a wonder if they would be able to catch anything. Bat could sense a lot of prey was about. The fluttering of wings and the rustle of the grass indicated they were being watched. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to catch anything.

"Wing!" Bat snapped, immediately Wing silenced himself. Rambunctious as he may have been, Wing knew when to stop. Or rather he knew when to stop when he was being yelled at and scolded at a repetitive basis.

"We need to stay quiet and keep low to the ground." Bat instructed softly to his eldest son.

The small pup nodded and followed his father's example, mimicking every step and every motion, only to trip over his feet. Bat chuckled softly to himself, helping his son up. They came to a bush, moving slowly into it, taking care not to make too much of a rustle. Luck would be on their side. One flock hadn't picked up on them, or believed the danger had passed.

"Perfect." Bat licked his chops.

Perfect indeed, for a flock of partridges stood unaware of the danger that hid.

Bat prepared himself mentally and physically, going over in his mind the steps that Mayu had taught him long ago. "Okay Wing, just watch me carefully." Bat instructed to his son. Yet no response came. "Wing?" Wing was too entranced by the birds before him to listen to his father. Those tasty succulent birds, like his mother, had a taste for partridges. Well any meat or food in general. A mixture of emotions welled up inside him. Partially it was hunger, while another half was a simple desire to show his father he could do this.

"Watch this Dad!" Wing proclaimed. The small pup darted off like a rocket towards the partridges.

"Wing wait!" Bat called, but it was too late.

The partridges reacted quickly; well save for one, a rather fat one who was preoccupied with the insects within the ground. It didn't bother fleeing at the incoming puppy, or didn't care. That is until Wing clamped down on its tail feathers. The partridge squawked in fury as it attempted to shake off the pup the best way it knew how, by flying. With the added weight, it faltered a bit as Wing hung on to his dear life. The partridge tried to maintain itself, only reaching certain heights as it tried to shake off its passenger. The bird only managed to reach certain height, and then faltered before it drifted behind a set of bushes. A great crash and clatter could be heard, along with a tumble and Wing's yells.

"Wing!" Bat called after.

There was a cliff, he could feel that. The path had suddenly changed, forming into a steep slope. For an adult dog such as Bat, it was no problem. He just had to descend and make sure he kept his footing. For Wing however, it was rather difficult. The partridge had managed to get away, albeit with some injuries. Wing himself was okay, yet his fur was covered in dust, which of course would mean another bath much to his dislike. Still it hurt going down that hill.

"Ow." Wing accentuated, shaking himself off. He looked up to see his father. Grinning sheepishly, he said, "Guess I need practice huh Dad?"

Wing's grin vanished as he noticed his father's angry expression.

"What were you thinking?" Bat bellowed at his son. Wing let out a whimper as his father continued to scold him. "You could have been killed! Don't you dare do anything that reckless again! Next time you stay put! You got that young man?"

Bat's breathing became heavy as his disappointment in his son increased. Then he sensed a shifting of paws, tiny paws that belonged to Wing. Wing backed away a bit from his father.

"I'm sorry Dad." He apologized in a tiny whimper. All he had wanted was to make his father proud, and he had done jut the opposite of that. It crushed his spirit to be honest. Bat raised up a paw, Wing braced himself as he expected a smack or something. Yet what came was a simple pat. Opening his eyes, Wing saw noticed his father's expression had changed. No longer was it angry, but rather soft.

"Don't scare me like that again." Bat said.

Scared? His father? Wing was taken aback by that. His father was the most fearless dog he had known, well his mother was pretty brave (and cranky), but Wing looked up to his father the most. Despite the time he would act like a little gnat, there was a true bond between father and son.

"Come on, let's go get dinner." Bat ushered his son along, who this time kept quiet and listened to his father's every word.

Bat was still disappointed, but not at his son. He was disappointed at himself for exploding at his child like that, even if it was out of concern.

XXX

43 DAYS LATER

XXX

Delicious little things they were, oh yes, hiding in the cave.

She trotted a little closer, smelling that delicate, growing smell. The other smells were sour and grown up– things that could hurt, or break, or bite. But the other smells, now, they were nice and harmless. She licked her lips, lowering her head to the ground. At most, she could only smell the precious things from the nearby hill, doomed to be kept away from them. It was always a dance of snapping jaws and leaping feet whenever the others– the adults– saw her. She would leap through leaves and run, pulling her bushy tail along with her. They didn't like her, oh no they did not. They didn't trust her marble eyes and feathery steps, light little trots that kept her prey from hearing her.

Nor did they like her black tipped ears, paper thin and sensible little things that they were. Or her needle teeth, which could shear open mice and birds quite nicely. They chased her, or bayed at her, and drove her away from their precious things. Three of them, as far as she could see. Three little bundles who had not seen her clever face disappearing into bushes, smelled her rank and sharp smell and shuffled their pups closer. Even the coyotes– who were much like her– tended their pups well when her brown eyes peeped from the bushes.

She slunk down part of the hill, watching.

One of the pups had come out of the den. He was alone. A little black scrap, tumbling around in the grass. She licked her lips. Precious, so precious. He jumped away from the den, rolling about. He was getting further and further away from the den. Her foot slipped down the incline, and she swiftly backed up. He couldn't be hers until he ran away from the safe place, away from the crushing and shaking jaws of his parents. She waited on the ridge till the puppy was called back with a few faint barks. Ears perking up, the small thing disappeared, running back into the den. It was gone now, and the parents were home. She flicked her ears back. Patience, patience, that was all she needed. Soon she would corner the little things and have them, no angry parents along with them. She just needed time, that was all.

Pulling back, she silently slipped into the woods, disappearing.

XXX

Wing snored, pudgy little belly rising and falling with his steady breathing. He lay sprawled out, belly up, looking like a dead goldfish in a stagnant pond. Next to him, Mina's lay belly down, nose poked into his ribs. Her little back legs were stuck out at awkward angles, one little foot standing cocked, toes pressed into the ground. She made a few snuffling sounds before adjusting her head, moving her front legs under it. A few inches away from her, Kuro remained completely still in his curled up form, a black cushion on the floor. A few rays of sun hit their backs, warming the small spots that touched.

Bat shifted in his position around the back of the den. He got up from his stretched out pose, sniffing the air. Mayu sat by the entrance of the den, tangled white ears dangling and catching most of the sun that was trying to fall on the pups. Though the pose appeared relaxed, she was watching the outside with sharp senses. Puppies did not come without their fair share of enemies. They were quite fragile, after all, though not near as much as human children or bird chicks. So far, however, Mayu had sensed no danger outside the den or around it. The family had been lucky enough to avoid predators sneaking into the home, though they'd had their fair share of close calls outside. Particularly with wandering coyotes or temperamental snakes, who were quite testy this time of year.

She breathed in the warm afternoon air. Bat walked up beside of her, careful not to step on any of the pups. He sat down on the other side of the den entrance. The fuzzy yellow light bent past him, speckling the cave. A cloud passing over the sun forced the usually bright element to shine down in little separate beams. Bat felt them slowly begin to heat his face. There was one on his check, and next to his eye. He didn't move. The habit to move his eyes out of the sun so that they would not be heated in their sockets was long past.

Mayu turned her head towards him. She said nothing, just watching. He tilted his head up, catching more sun in the face. "Did you see anything?"

He spoke quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping brood. Mayu looked back out at the sun dappled woods.

"No."

Bat didn't turn his head with her. Despite having several habits from when he had eyes, he no longer looked towards scenery when others did. It was a useless motion, one that only betrayed awkwardness in your blindness.

"They're getting far more active," Mayu added, glancing back into the cave. "Soon they'll be going out into the forest on their own. Mostly."

Bat drew part of his ears back, moving them. A tiny gnat had began to irritate them, buzzing away inside. His movement brushed it away.

"I don't think they should be let loose here," Bat said.

Mayu sighed, blowing out air loudly. "Bat, do you want to have this conversation again?"

Bat edged closer. "Mayu, I really don't think this is the best place. You think you can kill any predator that comes near them, which you can. So can I. But soon enough, _they'll _be coming to the predators, not the other way around."

Mayu turned towards him. The flecked sun slid along her sleek white fur like yellow and orange shining oil.

"You want to go to Ohu."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes. I do." Bat held her in his scarred shut eyelids the particular way he always did. "Normally, I wouldn't want to go back there, even with pups needing protection. But there's too many humans in the surrounding territory here, and this section of the woods is too risky for ones their age. If they were just a _month _younger, I wouldn't be talking to you about this. But there's too many coyotes here; too many foxes and snakes. You remember Wing and the bear? We looked away for one minute, and he gorged himself on its rotting carcass, never mind that it would have killed him had it found him while he was alive. He had no _fear. _Even some adult dogs flinch away from eating bear, yet he didn't. They don't because something clicks in them that says it's disgusting; reeking flesh from an animal that can tear them limb from limb. Yet Wing still ate it– not out of bravery, but because he didn't know what fear of death or fear was!"

Bat paused for a minute when Mina stirred. Both Saluki and Lab looked back into the cave. Mina had shifted her position, now no longer touching Wing. Kuro's body had gotten slightly slacker; sprawled out across the floor instead of being in a tight ball.

Mayu looked directly at Bat.

"If doesn't know what fear is now, the road trip to Ohu will certainly teach him, and not in a gentler manner than a stray fox!" she snapped. Kuro stirred again. Mayu gave him another quick glance before lowering her voice and continuing. "I wouldn't mind going to Ohu. Hell, if they help bring up Wing, I'll do _anything _to get there. But the road isn't right for them now. Can you imagine them facing hunger– not minor hunger, but _roadside-how-long-can-you-last _hunger? They'll die. You know that as well as I do. None of them can trudge on in the way they need to. And other moving predators won't make the road any easier."

Bat swept his tail across the ground.

"I know. But we still need to move when we can. There are "moving predators," certainly, but they're not moving in as fast the ones here."

Mayu darkly cocked an ear towards outside. The speckled light on the leaves and bushes looked as if it was trying to hide something– a pointed nose, a bushy tail, some sharp eyes.

"You've seen it, haven't you?" she asked.

Bat turned his head to face outside, lifting his ears. He heard nothing. But just mentioning it seemed like a way to draw it in.

"Getting closer every day, is she?" he said coolly. Mayu also turned to look outside. There was nothing. No moving bushes, no shaking limbs or cracking twigs. Yet Mayu did not trust her ears and eyes entirely. The vixen was crafty, well learned in hiding any traces she left behind besides her light, dancing footsteps.

"I've tried killing her before," Mayu said, trying to focus on the outside. Was that a glimmer of red fur, a twist of a thin body? "But she always escapes. If I could crush her head and break her spine in my jaws, I would be happy. Coyotes are nothing compared to her– they're not near as… slippery."

Bat watched the outside with her, using his ears instead of eyes. "She goes along quite well with snakes. Both are slick and writhe their way through bushes and over the ground, waiting for pups. Mina was almost bitten before–"

"I know. I grabbed her before it could strike. It was sheer luck it didn't then, and sheer luck when it didn't while I crunched its spine." Mayu interrupted. She stopped looking for movement in the forest. The sun was getting brighter, the cloud slowly moving on and dissolving at the same time. Mayu took a deep breath.

"I know you want Ohu. It'll help everyone. Running through the turf and hunting zones to get to Ohu just isn't an option right now. We need to wait just a bit longer, and keep everyone out of trouble in that time."

Bat touched her shoulder with his nose.

"Easier said than done."

XXX

"Wake up!" Mina heard the voice in her dreams. Her little mind tried to push it out, assuming it to be all a part of her dream. The little pup continued to immerse herself in her own minds wandering.

"Wake up!" The little voice, one she was very familiar with. Nevertheless, she slept away. That is until she felt a sharp kick against her side. That jolted her awake. Mina blinked her eyes. The small orbs adjusted to the dimness of their den. Their nap had started midday, and now it was evening. A small change in their family's routine, but for some reason, Mina noticed her parents wanted her and her brothers inside. Speaking of her brothers, Kuro currently napped away, where as Wing….

"Wing!" Mina snapped, but still kept her voice low as she noticed her parents were still sleeping. Her father let out a large snore, a gust of his breath hitting her back. Her mother lay near the front of the cave, her face turned to the front.

"Why did you wake me up!" She yipped.

"Shhh!" Wing hissed back at her. As he turned around, Mina noticed her brothers pudgy stomach had shrunken down. Earlier in the day, Wing had stumbled across the carcass of a bear. Being Wing he had gorged himself till he couldn't move. In fact their parents had to drag him back to the den. Wing always did that, and always after some rest, he would always return to his normal shape. She had grown used to it, but her parents always seemed to find it odd that their son would consume such large amounts. But they would dismiss it.

Wing sported a playful motion, as if he were about to pounce, and he did, right atop Kuro.

Kuro stirred for a moment, "Mommy?" He tiredly asked as he searched around. However he only saw his brother and sister. "Huh? What's going on guys?" He asked with a yawn.

Wing smirked as he looked about, making sure his mom and dad were asleep. "You guys ever wonder what it's like at night?"

Mina and Kuro looked at each other uncertainly. "What are you talking about?" Mina snapped, still irritated that she was awoken at this hour.

Wing flashed a cocky looking smirk upon his face, "I'm sneaking outside, you guys coming along?"

Kuro yawned again as he considered the question, "But, Mommy and Daddy said were not s'posed to go out at night."

Kuro was always a good little boy. Mina was well behaved to a certain degree. "Is that what you got us up for?" She hotly asked.

Wing's expression told her enough.

"Well Kuro and I aren't going! And you shouldn't either!" Mina continued, denying against the action her brother was taking.

Wing didn't seem to care, merely shrugging and turning to go his merry little way.

"If you don't stop I'm telling Mommy and Daddy." Mina warned.

Again, Wing seemed to shrug it off without a care, but he stopped at least. "Oh I know what' your problem, you're scared." He smirked again, "You and Kuro are a bunch of little cowards! You aren't brave like me. You guys can just stay home while I go explore." Before Wing trotted off, he turned his back towards Mina. "Bye babies!"

Kuro was too smart not to fall for his brother's taunts, while Mina on the other hand… The red that flashed upon her black furred face told Kuro enough what was going to happen.

"_I'm not going to listen to him. I'm not going to listen to him._" Mina chanted to herself. She wouldn't let Wing get to her. But the way he spoke, the way he looked, it just irked her to no end.

Kuro looked at his sister uncertainly. He didn't know what her motives were. "Mina?" He asked, hoping his elder sibling would provide a good example of listening to their parents.

XXX

Kuro let out a weary sigh. Mina had given in to Wing, and now here they were, outside in the dark forest. Wing did have his annoying ways of convincing the two of them to do whatever he wanted. Mostly it was just to shut up his teasing, but honestly, Kuro wanted to appear brave. His brother and sister were far braver than him. Sometimes it got to him, but he always had his parents to protect him, particularly his mother.

Mina cursed herself for letting Wing talk her into this. The trees and branches around them cast eerie shadows all about. She swallowed not willing to make herself appear weak. Weakness for a female was not allowed, at least in her mother's words. Thinking on that, Mina recalled how her mother seemed to be particularly scolding towards her, mostly if this pertained to her crying or being, well, weak. She didn't understand it to be honest. She simply wanted to be a puppy, not some warrior like her father. Maybe that's why she clung to her father so much, whenever she was in trouble Daddy would swoop in and save her, well Mommy as well, but she felt especially safe with her father. A chill ran up her spine. Something was here, but she couldn't see it. She occasionally got those feelings. Sometimes she could feel and sense things, but couldn't see them with her eyes. Something danced across her senses before it disappeared entirely. It was as odd as Wing's own monstrous appetite.

Speaking of which, the aftereffects were being felt, or smelt in this case.

"PU!" Mina exclaimed, placing her paw to her nose. "Wing why did you have to eat that rotten bear? You're making a lot of stinkies!"

Wing's digestive tract had worked off the bear, but it had given him a bad case of gas. Ever since he had started, he had let it out in continuous and occasionally spurts. Seeing as he kept the lead, Mina and Kuro got a full whiff of the scent from behind. Not that they wanted to, they just couldn't avoid it. It simply motivated them to walk faster.

"Well don't smell it." Wing called back to his sister, before letting loose another one.

Mina and Kuro shuddered as the rotten air hit them. "Well you could at least have some curtsy for us!"

Mina of course meant to say courtesy, but she was too young to get it right, and it made it even cuter. That was why Wing didn't think those two were fit to be warriors like him. He was the eldest and therefore he had the most potential. At least in his eyes that is.

"Aw it aint as bad when Kuro got sprayed by that skunk." Wing reminded.

Kuor whimpered at that memory. One day he was out playing and sure enough by chance, he ran into a skunk. He had never seen one before, so his natural curiosity got the better of him. Needless to say he got the expected result. Luckily Mommy was there to give him a nice, cold bath in the river. Actually, scratch the "nice" part. That part was rather uncomfortable.

"Kuro smelt so bad I thought my nose was going to burn off!" Wing exclaimed.

"Well not as bad as you, you smell like something died." Mina held her head up upon that exclamation. Well Wing did eat something that had rotted for a few days, so it was understandable.

_CAWWWW!_

The sound made every puppy jump. Wing jumped, but he hid whatever emotions he may have held. "You know maybe you two should go back. This place is too scary for little children like you."

Mina narrowed her eyes, "You're a kid too, stupid."

"Yeah well I'm braver than any of you little pups. I aint afraid of anything!" Wing trotted with his head high. That is until a rustle of bushes made him jump and whimper back to his siblings.

"Brave huh?" Mina sardonically replied.

Wing's face turned bright red, "Shut up! You jumped too!"

The rustle in the bushes died only to spread to another one. It came and went, making all three of the puppies huddle together. The three of them kept close as they made certain to keep their eyes open for any sight of what was stalking them. Within the darkness, they caught a twin set of yellow lights, before they pounced.

The three of them screamed.

XXX

"_Mayu!_"

Mayu turned in her sleep.

"_Mayu! Get up!_"

A grumble escaped her as she felt the nudge in her mind. Just a dream, that's all.

"_The pups! They're in danger!_"

The voice, the familiar voice, that mention of puppies got her up. It was as if her mind had dropped a bucket of cold water on her. Her eyes darted around the den. There was Bat at the back yes, but where? No! They couldn't have! Her chest started to tighten, her breathing grew panicked. They were gone.

"Bat!" Mayu bolted to her mate, jostling and shaking him.

"Huh?" Bat grumbled, "What? Mayu?" The Labrador could sense his mate as he awoke.

"Bat! The children!" Mayu spoke with urgency.

That got Bat fully awake. The alertness in his mate's voice told him something had happened. "Mayu what happened?" He asked, trying to maintain his calmness in a possible bad situation.

Just then, they heard the screams. They were coming from outside the den. The parents looked at each other, before they darted outside and toward the source. Their children were in danger, and they hoped they would get there in time.


	14. Chapter 14

Mayu and Bat raced through the forest, leaves flying past them. Bounding over logs and twisting around trees, Mayu could still hear the screams of the puppies echoing in her ears. She forced herself to go faster, tongue beginning to hang out of her mouth. Vicious swears ran through her head, all of them in a frantic and pounding loop. Bat cut in front of her in a burst of speed, running towards the sound of a new scream. Mayu's blood boiled and frothed inside her body. She followed directly behind him as he pinpointed their location.

_You're not taking them today, you bitch! _she snarled inside her head. She thought of almond shaped eyes and ginger and red fur, a little smirking set of teeth. Mayu ran even faster.

XXXX

He scrambled through the bushes, trying to dig through. Screams were still ringing in his ears. He could hear it running through the leaves, kicking them up, could smell the blood coating its muzzle. It laughed at him, a high pitched, mock of a dog bark and cat meow. He pulled himself further underneath the bushes. It may not find him here; not how it had found Mina.

Her yelp of pain replayed inside him over and over. Kuro shuddered, hearing Wing still running and Mina's vanishing cries. A new high pitched scream of fear broke through the air, shattering the stillness before the forest greedily sucked it away. Kuro began yelping and crying as he heard something begin to run again. He was not sure what, but he hated it.

"MINA! MIIIINNNAA! MOOOOM! DAAAAD!" Wing's panicked howls split through the air, quickly beginning to repeat over and over in a form of denial.

"WIINNNNG! WIIIINNNGGG! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS–"

Mina's voice was immediately at the loudest it could go, no build up to the horror and yelps inside of it. Kuro crammed himself into the bush further, paws over his eyes. Both she and Wing screamed once more, and the sick, sick mocking call sounded again. Kuro screamed late, only to realize he wasn't screaming– his mouth was open, but one long, constant whine that was barely hearable was leaking out. Like a hole in a container of compressed steam.

He didn't look outside the bushes, hearing more leaves being thrown about. There was the sound of heavy pounding feet, vicious snarls, and then the mocking laugh was gone from the air. Lighter sounds of leaves being stepped on joined the louder and heavier to form a rhythm-less chase. Kuro's whine became louder.

"Help." he said. "Help. Help. Help. Help."

Mina's crying grew fainter.

Kuro couldn't hear Wing.

XXXX

Their blood tasted good. That warm feeling filling her inside. The vixen giggled with delight as she could taste it running down her. Their little whimpers filled her soul, but their screams were better. Her claws ran down their tiny bodies, nothing sharp enough to leave a scar, but enough to invoke fear. Yes, fear, that was the ultimate seasoning. For any prey needed to know whom its better was.

A little patience went a long way. She sat, she watched, she waited for her chance, and now here it was.

"Oh no shush uh ah." She soothed, "Little morsels shouldn't run, shouldn't flee, no no."

Mina whimpered, Wing had long given up, his little breath had gone out, that or maybe that bear he ate hadn't fully gone down.

She wouldn't waste any more time. One had gotten away, but she would get to it in time. Much time had been wasted in her patience, so she would now dine. Her mouth parted away to reveal a row of teeth. She had experienced this feeling many times before. The rush of adrenaline that coursed with each kill was so intoxicating to the senses. Although she could have done with more squirming, that made it more fun.

_Wham_

The feeling came so suddenly, she felt herself knocked to the ground with a heavy force. Her adrenaline hadn't left her yet, in fact she would need it now. In-between rolls, she caught approaching glimpses of black and white.

"_No! Not them!_" She thought, just as the black shape grabbed a hold of her tail with its teeth, swinging her about, only to thrown her hard against the tree. The cunning trickster wasn't a match for two angry parents.

"_Escape!_" Her greedy claws dug into the dirt as her sleek shape disappeared. Had to plan, had to wait.

XXX

"DADDY!" Mina immediately cried. Latching her blood stained paws around her fathers legs, she began to cry.

Bat comforted his daughter with a few licks; he grimaced as he tasted iron. "There, there it's fine." Mina continued to cry, now fully safe in her father's paws. Bat sniffed the air, "Where's Kuro?" He asked.

"Papa!" Kuro ran as fast as he could out of the bushes, embracing his father the same way his sister was.

Wing just stood there, uncertain on what to do, his guilt rising up. This was his fault, but could he admit it? He had disappointed his father once already, well several times, but that hunting trip still etched in his mind. Licking his muzzle, he tasted blood.

"Dad, I–" He began.

Bat looked at his son. He knew Wing had to be responsible for this. Only he could goad his siblings into doing something so foolhardy. Yet there was no anger in his face. A paw raised, Wing winced slightly, expecting some kind of punishment, but none came. Without a second thought, Wing joined his younger siblings against their father.

"You're all safe, that's what matters." Bat explained to his frightened offspring.

Indeed at did matter. No matter how often they would get into trouble, Bat worried about their safety most of all.

One didn't share in the family moment though.

"Mayu?" Bat could sense his wife was far away.

"Bat, take the puppies back to the den." She spoke in a determined sounding voice.

Worry creased Bat's brow just slightly, "What are you–?" He started to ask, but he didn't finish.

"Keeping the family safe." she said before taking off without another word.

The worry hadn't left Bat yet. He wasn't certain of what his wife was going to do. So he obeyed and led their children home.

XXX

Mayu stormed through the woods, her paws crunching through every leaf and twig, perfectly good twigs to be precise, ones that would make for a good chew. But she didn't care.

"_Where is that bitch?_"

Her nose and eyes wandered about as they looked for that ginger haired succubus. Succubus was right. Only a hellspawn such as her would dare harm her babies. That alone would put anyone on Mayu's shit list.

There it was! A scent, she caught something. No? There it was to her side, the over there. It was coming all around her.

"Where are you?" Mayu felt her fury rise. It grew with every second. Larger and larger.

"AHHHHHH!" The vixen screamed, slamming both her paws into Mayu's body. The vixen however, wasn't strong enough to knock her pursuer down, so she went right for the claw and teeth route. She bit; she tore at whatever got in her way.

Blood! Blood! Kill! Those words danced in the vixen's mind. This canine witch would die here and now. A little planning later, a little more care, she would go after the puppy meat, sweet and tender.

That wouldn't come to pass, a simple dream that wouldn't pass.

"GET OFF ME!" Mayu felt her own anger rise.

It didn't take her much effort to throw the vulpine off. Following her husband Bat's example, Mayu grabbed the vixen by the tail, and threw her against the tree, making sure she made it as painful as possible.

The vixen felt a daze rush to her head as she fell. Her side hurt, a rib must have been broken. That or her hysteria played tricks on her mind.

"All you do is creep around." The darkness hid Mayu's face. The moonlight disappearing behind a cloud, "Spying, sneaking, just like a little parasite, feeding off others."

The vixen stood there as the canine calmly ranted.

"You've never had to give life have you? You've never felt something grow inside you, nurturing it?"

Mayu of course was referring to those whom she held dear. This creature, from the way she moved in confused fear, Mayu knew she hadn't experienced motherhood. "Of course you haven't, no male would have you." Mayu added a scoffing laugh to that comment.

The vixen would normally lash out against this form of insult. But something didn't seem right about this dog. The vixen could smell something against her, see something as well. Mayu herself didn't notice the dark aura that surged around her. Perhaps it wasn't really there, only metaphysical in presence.

Mayu didn't care what she was doing, all she knew was she wanted to make this miserable creature pay for what she did. A feeling sprang up, something originated from her blood, which now boiled liked hot oil.

"No…..Stay back!" The vixen pleaded, almost attempting to warn. But it wouldn't come to pass. At this point, a scream echoed throughout the forest, and it wasn't Mayu's.

XXX

Mina was the last one to fall asleep. She, along with her brothers clung to their father like little burrs.

"_Is Mommy coming back?_" Mina had asked.

Bat had reassured his daughter her mother would return. Mina seemed pleased with that answer, partially that is. If anything, Mina seemed more comfortable with her father, than her mother. Bat had noticed that quite a bit. He hadn't pressed it much though, only for a few occasions he noticed his wife acting a bit… harshly towards their daughter, never physically, but verbally. Sure she yelled at Wing, he did as well, but she never had much of a problem with Kuro. In a reversal, Kuro often clung to his mother. Wing on the other hand was more of an in-betweener, he didn't cling to either parent. That didn't apply now, for they all clung to their father.

Before she had fallen asleep, Mina looked up at her father and with a yawn said, "_Daddy? I'm glad you're my papa._"

"Papa." Bat said to himself with a grin. He didn't think he would ever get used to that feeling, even if it made him feel good.

His ears perked up at the sound of paw steps. "Mayu?" No answer came, but he knew he was correct. The scent was a dead giveaway. He could also tell she was chewing on a twig. She was stressed about something from the way her teeth grinded. Then he smelt the dampness, she had washed herself off in the river.

"_Keeping the family safe._"

Bat could imagine her hunched position in his mind. He had a guess as to how she had kept their little family safe.

An awkward silence followed, before Mayu spoke. "Do you remember the way to Ohu?"

The question didn't surprise him by much. A part of him had anticipated it. "Yes. The way is burned into my senses. The ones I still have at least."

Mayu sighed. So it had come to this. She didn't want it to. She had planned on them raising their pups in this den. They would grow up and go off to find their own way in the world, while she and Bat grew old together. But, like everything in her life, nothing went exactly as planned.

"We'll wait a day, then we'll tell them." said Mayu.

That was final, and they both agreed as parents.

XXX

There was not much talking the next day.

Even as the sun rose in the sky and begin to pour its shining pale orange light inside the cave, a signal for the puppies to begin playing, noise was almost nonexistent. The adults went on their daily hunting trip as usual, but one of them made sure to stay behind. Bat. He sprawled near the stone wall of the den, black fur blending into the wall and Xd eyes staring everywhere.

Their mother, Mayu, was a different planet today, a white comet that barely interlaced with their solar system, brushing against them before heading off into the reaches of space once more. She spent most of her time hunting for the food, or talking to Bat about something when she could, low voice included. Mina and Kuro stirred now and then, talking about light, stupid things. Wing felt like shutting out both of them as sat at the back of the cave in a hurt sulk.

To tell the truth, there was a large amount of talking that day. But for Wing, it was nothing. Everything sounded artificial and fake, like echoes bouncing back and forth. The only real words were when Mina complained about her wound to Kuro, and managed to connive her younger brother into helping her lick it clean. His effortless arguments ripped down like paper mache, or the way the little catdog demon had ripped through Mina's flesh just yesterday.

Wing shuffled miserably. Yesterday. God, how he hated yesterday. Mina had gotten hurt, Kuro had been crying in a bush, and he'd been a bouncing bag of gas that broke down once the thing– a "fox"– had come after them. The thing had barely been bigger than they were, yet Wing had turned tail almost instantly at it! He bad temperedly scratched at his nose. But after everything, Mina and Kuro acted like it had never happened! They went back to their stupid, little pup playing– and Bat and Mayu didn't care that they did!

Wing growled slightly, but no one heard him.

It was his fault for taking Kuro and Mina outside… but his parents didn't punish him. Even if Mina had almost gotten killed, they didn't scold him. Wing didn't understand why. He got smacked for harassing Kuro, but then unpunished for almost killing all of them? How the frink did that work?

Wing felt better, using a bad word. He had learned it when his mother had stumbled over a rock and almost cut her paw onto ribbons over an ancient glass bottle. Even if he wasn't sure this was what she actually said, it was close enough. Usually, saying it made him feel more grown up, and much tougher than his brother and sister. But today, it just left a rotten and empty feeling, and no afterglow of pride whatsoever.

Wing marinated inside his rotten mood even further.

XXX

The remainder of the day passed by like a falling balloon. At first, you could not tell what it was, or what it was doing, or whether you were seeing it or not– perhaps nothing at all– but then eventually realizing what it was and going about your business. Kuro and Mina both found it hard to believe that they had almost been killed the previous day, but, as the sun slowly drew on and Mina began to feel her wounds even more, the reality finally hit her like a sledgehammer. She had been attacked. She had gotten hurt. She had LIVED.

For a moment, she'd sat there, dazed. Life was not supposed to go on like normal after something like _that _happened. There was supposed to be a shocked aftermath, a frozen in time day… a… a… a miniature end of the world!

But there wasn't one.

The day went on.

XXX

Kuro finished eating his meal, a ripped up and soft piece of rabbit that Mayu had brought him. Outside of the den, the sun had finally began to go down, darkness being drawn out of the forest's nooks and crannies to cover its entire surface. Despite all of the previous events from yesterday, Kuro was the most unaffected.

He gnawed off a thin thread of the dark red and pink flesh, holding it in between his tiny paws. It tasted very good, though not succulent, and he needed to chew on it several times before it went down. After he was done with it, he pulled off another piece of meat.

Mayu and Bat were talking about something again. Bat finished saying something before climbing to his feet and exiting the cave. Mayu turned her head to uninterestedly look at the cave wall, and then just slowly brought it back up front. _Bathroom break, _Kuro thought.

Mina had stopped pestering Kuro to help clean her wound, which was a good thing, but now her fur was stuck all over his tongue. Eating the rabbit had helped wash it down, even if some annoying bits were still left. Normally, Kuro wouldn't have minded grooming Mina, but she was shedding for the first time in her life. That or she just got her fur loosened up by yesterday.

Bat reentered the cave. Kuro stopped his chewing for a moment, then resumed. Even with what had happened yesterday… he was safe.

After all, nothing bad would ever happen to him as long as his parents were near.

XXX

A Day Later, Morning

XXX

"Mina! Wing! Kuro! Come here!"

The pups perked up as Mayu's voice rang out through the den. Kuro stopped chewing on Mina's paw and pulled his ear away from Wing, who had been fiercely gnawing on it for the last minute. The three scrambled over each other to get to their mother, claws clicking over the floor. Kuro saw that she and Bat were sitting directly at the entrance next to each other. There were no playful slouches, no fleaing of shoulders. They both sat up straight and firm.

Wing felt his stomach sinking. _It's about the fox! _He knew his parents wouldn't have left him alone for too long without punishment after that. _No, no, no!_

Bat took in a deep breath.

"Your mother and I would like to talk with you."

_Here it comes!_

Mina twisted her head. "About what, dad?" Wing clearly saw the still red scars that laced across her neck, a few drops of moisture clinging to the fur around it from where Mina had been licking it lately.

"It's got something ta do with the fox, doesn't it?" Kuro's shrill little voice spoke up. Wing felt like strangling him, but then remembered the red marks around Mina's neck. He could easily see them on Kuro. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't strangle him, but at least give him a small bite on the rear or back leg, whichever he got to first.

Mayu spoke up. "We've been thinking of moving… to Ohu. Ohu isn't a place here in the forest. It's far, far away. But there, it would be easier to look after you all, and there'd be more helpers to do so. Ohu is where your father came from."

All three of the pups gaped at her.

"O…Ohu? We're moving _there? _To where dad came from?" Kuro was staring at her in total disbelief, but there was strangled excitement and confusion in his voice. "How far is it?"

"Very far, just like your mother said," Bat replied. "But we think you're old enough to make the journey, and after the fox made its move… we've decided to leave as soon as possible. We were going to tell you earlier before we made the trip, but our choices have just been cut down." He paused. "I think you would do well going there."

"But what if we don't _want _to go to Ohu?" Mina asked. "What's wrong with here? I know about the fox and everything," she added hastily, "but you got rid of it. And we're gonna be big dogs in a little while! The fox can't do anything to us then." There was a large amount of defiance and stubbornness in Mina's voice. Both Wing and Kuro thought she looked much like Mayu– the clenched jaws, tangled ears, and stone look in her eyes. No one could ever move their sister when she got that way… except Mayu. And Bat.

But Kuro felt a stab of apprehension, and nervousness. Even after what had happened, he didn't want to leave the familiar trees and den for the big, unexplored outdoors. He liked going out there to look at things, but only when he could return back to the safe, comfortable home later. If they went to Ohu– wherever it was– then they would never be coming back. He would never see this place again. Wing fidgeted behind him.

"I told you," Mayu responded, "It's because it will be easier to take care of you there, and you might learn something. Here is getting worse to live in all the time– the rabbits are moving somewhere else, or the owls and hawks are taking them away. We might be able to catch rabbits, but only when they're still on the ground! None of us can live on pheasant and partridge forever. Besides that," she said, glancing towards Bat, "I'm sure your father would like to see some old… _acquaintances _of his."

Kuro blinked. He'd never thought of it that way. So they were moving for dad, food, and to get away from nasty foxes and other things. Kuro had always thought they had enough food; even if he'd had to go a little hungry at times,his parents had always brought back birds and rabbits for them to eat. He hadn't noticed that they'd been bringing in less and less. Kuro was about to open his mouth when Wing cut him off.

"If we're moving 'cause of food here, then what's it like in Ohu?" He stared directly at Bat, a new and more interested light in his eyes. Of course, Wing was always interested when it came to food. He never _stopped _eating. Maybe they were moving because Wing was eating all of the rabbits, Kuro thought.

"Good eating," Bat said, sensing a weak gap in his son's defense. Wing had felt the same Mina had as moving, but he was easy to persuade with edible materials. Too easy. "The rabbits there are much plumper since Futago Pass has more mountain grass, and so are the birds. You can catch much more of them, and there's fish too."

Wing's eyes practically bugged out of his head. "_Fish? _What're _fish?_"

"Scaly, slippery things that live under the water," Mayu said. She had never liked fish to start with– they had a nasty, strong taste, and the scales stuck to your tongue. She'd eaten a dead Bluegill before when she found the carcass floating belly-up by the river edge, and it was the first and last time she tasted fish… something she was grateful for. But the weak gap needed to be broken open. "Some dogs can catch and eat them."

Wing stared at her, mouth hanging open. "…_really? _You're not telling a story?"

"Why would I tell a story about fish?" Mayu snapped.

Wing's tail began to wag. Added to the bulging eyes and open mouth, he looked like a starving baby bird awaiting a mouthful of food.

"Let's go to Ohu," he said decisively, cutting Mina off. "Right now."

"Not right now," Bat said, "but shortly. We'll probably set off in an hour or two after you've eaten something and taken a short nap. More than likely, we're just going to head for the little brush piles around the clearing edge and get our food and nap there before we leave." he turned to Mina. "What were you going to say, Mina?"

Mina felt desperation gripping her heart, and her ears and tail lowered as she looked at the rest of her family, all waiting expectantly for her to say something. Mayu and Bat wanted to go to Ohu– they were the ones who started it– Kuro would roll over with almost every decision his parents or siblings made, and Wing could've cared less about the den now that he knew about the food. She was the only one who _didn't _want to go– completely and utterly outnumbered.

"Mina?" Bat asked politely.

"I don't want to go," she blurted out.

"Mina!" Kuro said, a bit of a surprised whine in his voice.

Wing flattened his ears out at his sister. "Crybaby; spoilsport." he spat at her, neck fur rising.

"I'm not a crybaby!" Mina snapped at her brother. "I just don't want to leave our den and home for stinky Ohu, somewhere I've never seen before, that's all!"

She turned to Kuro.

"You agree with me, don't you Kuro? You're just too scared to say it!"

Kuro's ears slunk down. "Well…"

"If you say yes, I'm going to bite your face," Wing threatened his brother.

Kuro himself slunk down, wincing at the threat. "You see…"

"Kuro!" both of his siblings growled at once.

"Alright, that's enough!" Mayu snapped, breaking into the fight. "Kuro doesn't have control of anything; beating him up won't change that we're going to Ohu."

Wing relaxed, fur going back down, looking content at his mother's decision. Kuro let lose a sigh of relief, slumping onto the floor. Mina stared at her mother. How unfair!

"If we didn't have a choice, then why act like it?" she snapped.

"Mina," Bat warned.

"I don't care what you dogs are doing, I'm staying RIGHT. HERE." Mina firmly planted her feet into the ground, hunching over as if she was defending a piece of meat from Wing. Bat opened his mouth to say something, but Mayu nudged his leg with her foot, giving him a sharp look. He closed his mouth. Mayu looked Mina directly in the face.

"Well then, Mina, you're just going to have to stay here while we go to Ohu. All by yourself."

Kuro gasped, and Wing snickered. Mina ground her teeth together.

"Nuh-uh, you wouldn't leave me here," she said confidently, "Even if I'm not moving anywhere."

"I would."

"No, you wouldn't." Mina replied, though there was less confidence in her voice this time. Her mother wouldn't leave her… would she? _She won't…_

"Alright then," Mayu said, "But I hope you can feed yourself. Rabbits are very fast, you know."

Kuro gaped at his mother. "Mom, you're not actually going to–"

"If she doesn't move, I will." Mayu got up. "Come on, everyone, we need to go find lunch."

One by one, the family filed out of the cave. First went Mayu. Then Bat. Then Wing. Last of all, Kuro. He stopped, hesitating in the cave entrance. He looked worriedly at Mina, and then outside the den at Bat, Mayu, and Wing. Then back at Mina. And outside the cave once more.

"KURO!"

Mayu's commanding voice rang through the cave entrance, still loud and formidable though it sounded more far away. Kuro whipped his head around to look outside the den. Biting down nervously, he gave Mina one last look, kneading his paws on the ground. "Sorry, Mina," he squeakily squeezed out before running out of the cave. Mina was now alone.

_She won't. They won't, _Mina thought disbelievingly. But yet as she listened, the sounds of her family's footsteps got farther and farther away till she couldn't hear them at all. The forest's unnerving silentness filled the den. They had left. For one brief movement, Mina was shocked. Then she pulled back her ears, sticking out her tongue. "Good riddance, too!"

A birdcall rang through the den, echoing and making Mina jump.

Mina looked around the den, ears now down in fear. Was that a hawk? She listened for a few more seconds. No, a songbird. Things were much louder when no one else was here. Mina suddenly realized how big and dark the den was. Was it always this deep? And this dark? Whether it was her or the weather outside, Mina suddenly felt the temperature drop. It seemed a lot colder in here without everyone packed inside. And there wasn't as much as sunshine as there was when Mayu and Bat were sitting in the cave entrance, talking about things or grooming each other.

Mina nervously watched a spider crawl out of a crack in the wall and scuttle down the side. It pattered across the floor, pausing in the middle. Now it was just Mina and spider inside the den, no one else.

A brief minute of silence passed. Mina watched the spider. It made a few zig-zags, pausing at the end of them, before it crawled up the cave wall and vanished into another hidey hole. Now Mina was alone, without the spider. She licked her lips nervously, fidgeting and squirming. So this was what being alone felt like.

It took Mina less then five minutes to tire of the feeling.

"MOOOOM, DAAAAD, KUUUROOO, WIIIINNNGGG! WAIT UP!" she yelled, bursting out of the cave entrance and running into the forest. From the cave mouth, one could see one last glimpse of white fur before Mina disappeared into the woods, seeking out her family.

As the last echoes died, silence sought out the cave once more. The spider crawled out of his little crack, skittering out onto the floor.

Peace at last.

XXX

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there now?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No!"

"When are we getting there?"

A grumble followed. Bat tried his very best to contain his patience, yet his son was pushing all of his limits and restraints down to the very last.

"Wing….we'll get there when we get there." Bat clenched his teeth as he kept he managed to maintain a degree of calmness.

Wing pouted in clear frustration. "But I'm tired of waiting! We've been walking forever!"

Behind him, Wing heard an audible grumble. "Wing! Stop pestering your father!" Mayu snapped. Unlike her mate, Mayu wasn't that good at keeping her annoyance level down, and Wing was pushing everyone's buttons. The family of five had set out long ago, their only guide being Bat's sense of smell. As much as Mayu and the pups loved and trusted their family patriarch, even they were a tad worried about their travel.

Ohu, a place neither of them had ever been to. In all honesty, the pups still held a great deal of reservation about leaving. Mina mostly, for she only went out of fear of being left behind. Kuro simply went out of obedience. Wing? A grumble from his stomach answered that question.

"Can't we stop for something to eat?" Wing whined. "I'm still hungry."

"Wing we just ate a little while ago." reminded Mayu. "You ate far enough. We don't need you slowing us down with a full stomach."

Wing's pout increased in size, complete with a little puppy whine. "When I get to Ohu, I'm going to eat till I pop!" Wing boldly declared. It wasn't an empty promise. Mayu and Bat knew if Wing was given the chance, he would eat to that amount, insane as it sounded.

"Well for now, you will just have to be patient until we get there," stated Bat. There would be no way around it, Wing would have to wait.

The puppies had done well to keep up, but they could only do so for so long.

"Mommy?" Kuro panted, his pace trying to keep up with his mother's.

"What's wrong baby?" Mayu asked, noticing something seemed amiss with her child.

Kuro panted as he looked into his mother's warm eyes. "Can I have a ride? I'm tired of walking."

Mayu smiled at the request. Lowering her body, she grabbed Kuro by his scruff, placing him across her back. "Hang tight sweetie." Kuro wagged his little tail as his mother started to walk again. Mayu grinned as she saw her child's happiness. Seeing him smile always brought her mood up.

"Mommy?" Mayu looked down to see a pleading look upon Mina's face. Mina nervously pawed the ground as she asked her question. "Can I have a ride too?"

Mayu narrowed her eyes at her daughter's request. "Mina, Kuro is smaller than you. You're still able to keep up. You don't need a ride."

Mina whimpered at the refusal. Hanging her head down, she trotted ahead, away from her mother, and to her father. "Daddy?" Mina pawed, but Bat knew what his daughter wanted. Without a word, he allowed Mina to climb aboard her back, up her neck, and atop his head. Mayu frowned. Bat was going to spoil her with that kind of treatment. Mayu wasn't playing favorites between her children. They all needed to be strong, especially Mina. Females in this world were looked down upon, simply because of their gender. A lesson she had learned well during her childhood. Mina needed to be strong, Mayu would make certain of it. Kuro had been lagging behind, so he needed the rest.

The only one who wasn't tired was Wing. His hunger drove him forward, dreams off tasty prey. Wing would make certain to keep his promise of a popped stomach, one way or another.

XXX

"But I'm not tired!" Wing whined again.

The family's travels had lasted till the sun had set. Mayu and Bat knew it would be dangerous to travel at night, particularly with three young puppies. They didn't want a repeat of the fox incident. Also a scent of rain hung upon the wind. Those two factors told the two dogs that needed to rest for the night. Luckily they managed to find a small alcove just on the side of the road. Small would be right, Mayu's paws stuck out just a bit of the entrance, Bat as well. However the puppies were small enough to fit in. Mayu figured the temporary den was good enough. Bat on the other hand felt more inclined to keep walking.

His reasons?

A trail of rising smoke in the distance, a sign of humans, Bat's reservations were justified as far as he was concerned. However, Mayu, won out the argument. Bat might have been the patriarch, but the matriarch held all the cards this time. A lesson she hoped Mina would learn. Mina and Kuro were quick to settle down, for they were far more obedient than their elder brother.

"Tough, Wing! You need your rest and there is no getting around it! So just lay there and sleep."

Mother and son looked at each other with defiant stares. Wing may have been a defiant little pup, but Mayu had years of practice.

With a whine, Wing settled down his head, and closed his eyes.

"Finally." Mayu sighed with relief. Taming Wing always turned out to be a full time job, much suited for two dogs. But the other parent was preoccupied.

Bat kept his head turned toward the direction of the human abode. His ears and nose stood ready in case anything disturbed their temporary piece.

"Darling, go to sleep." Mayu beckoned to her husband.

Bat didn't turn an inch; his head still lay fixated on that smoke trail. The cool, strong demeanor broke as a lick stroked against the side of his face.

"Bat, you have the best senses out of any dog. If any danger comes, you'll protect." Mayu praised playfully.

Bat softened at those words, Mayu always knew how to soften him up. It wasn't weakness, but proof he loved his wife dearly. The two lovers laid their heads side by side, and soon fell asleep. Yet if danger reared, the two parents would spring into action, tearing apart all those who harmed their children. The three sleeping children…well almost.

He patiently waited for his mother and father to fall asleep, and it would seem his patience paid off. Wing cautiously opened his eyes, waiting for the telltale snore, particularly from his father. When all seemed clear, he crept around carefully tippawing as he worked his way around his siblings, then doing the same around his mother. His father may have had better skills, but his mother still could be just as good.

Wing knew he was in the clear when he stepped onto the path. His little tail wagged as he looked on ahead. That human home had caught his interest. He had never seen a human home, only from what he heard from his father. However what really made him curious were the kinds of food humans might eat. That or what they drink. Everything about humankind seemed mysterious. They probably drank more than water, or mother's milk. He had to find out. It seemed safe enough, otherwise their parents wouldn't have settled out in the open. That and there didn't seem to be a rain cloud in the sky. Knowing all he needed to know, he sped off towards the rising smoke.

Wing kept going, not stopping for any form of distraction. He maintained in a straight line, unusual for someone as disobedient as him, yet when it came to filling his belly, Wing would be the mot obedient pup you ever laid eyes on. Wing's patience led him to what he sought. The human home was nothing but a large pile of stacked wood, vertical and horizontal. But that didn't catch Wing's attention, no. The small door leading down held that honor. Normally a sense of danger would keep him from entering, but something inside told him he would find what he is looking for. The only sounds that came up, were of Wing's "ooh's" and "ahh's", followed by breaking glass, a yelp, followed by a curious "what's this?", and lastly, lapping.

XXX

_Wing's got away again._

_Kind of reminds me of us at that age._

_Mom always had her paw's full with us._

_Well, you, really._

_Guess Wing takes after you more than you thought?_

Mayu awoke in a confused manner than a jerk of the head. That familiar voice had come again into her dreams. The last time it did that…..her head jerked as she mad sure her children were still there. Her heart only sank slightly, for Mina and Kuro still remained. However the sinking was only halfway into worry, and the other half into annoyance.

"Wing." She grumbled lowly.

There was no other place he could be other than the human abode.

"Momma?"

Mayu almost left, but the little voice at her side tugged her. Kuro looked up with sleep eyes, almost begging despite the confusion he held.

"Go back to sleep baby." Mayu soothed her son by licking him gently. "Wing is just being naughty, so I'm going to bring him back."

Kuro let out a yawn and settled back into the comfort his father and sister made. With nothing left to hold her back, Mayu continued on towards the human home. Wing defiantly had been here, she could smell his scent going in a straight line. It didn't take Mayu long to find where Wing's trail ended.

"That boy is going to be the death of me one day." She muttered as she descended down the open doorway. As Mayu continued downward, she could hear a faint sound which only grew the closer she got. Mayu could make out some giggles followed by a hiccup.

"Heh hah hah! *hic*!"

There it was, and Mayu had her suspicions. The giggles only grew louder as she reached the bottom. Several pieces of human tools were hung up, ropes, sharp objects, it much reminded Mayu of what lay under Sawada's home. Something caught her eye, a broken bottle, and amongst the glass, there was an amber colored liquid. A strong smell wafted from it, and the one who was stumbling around.

"Wing!"

Wing's body shook with a hiccup at the sound of his mother's voice. Wing turned his head lazily and Mayu got a good look at his face. Beneath his black furred face, a clear blush shown. His eyes held a dazed, but glazed look to them.

"Moooom!" Wing didn't seem the least bit scared to see his mother. In fact he looked quite happy. Wing moved forward but he stumbled under his own steps. The action only made him giggle.

"I fell down *hic*!" He announced before submitting to his giggle fit.

Mayu titled her head as she tried to process the condition her son was in. Just what was in that strange water? It had to be the cause of Wing's behavior.

"Wing! What are you doing here! You had me worried! Just wait till your father hears about this in the morning." Despite the oddity of it all, Mayu still had her motherly duties.

Wing managed to reach his feet, before another hiccup shook his tiny body. It reminded Mayu much of the demon hiccups she had when she was pregnant.

"Mom can you hear it?" Wing asked, perking an ear up.

"Excuse me?" Mayu answered.

Wing remained perfectly still, only disturbed by a single hiccup. Suddenly Wing started to move, his body swaying as if he was dancing.

"The mountainsh *hic* are *hic* calling ush. Da sky ish calling ush" Wing's speech became peppered with slurs. "Letsh run like the wind!" Wing leapt into the air only to crash headfirst.

"Wing!" Mayu called out, fearing that her son had injured himself. Her fears were quenched when Wing broke out into a giggle and hiccupping fit. All this noise was bound to wake up the humans. Mayu quickly grabbed her son by his scruff as he would be in no condition to walk.

"Wow *hic*! The forest hash sho many trees!" Wing slurred as his mother quickly made their exit.

By the time Mayu had brought Wing back, he had passed out, either from being tired, or from that drink. Probably the latter as it made the puppy act silly enough. Thankfully it wasn't so much of a chore to settle Wing between his siblings and father. Mayu herself settled down, making extra certain to keep her son tucked in. Before she fell asleep, she heard one final hiccup.

Hopefully the morning would bring better luck.

XXX

Thunder cracked against the gray sky. Rain fell down in angry, fat, torrential drops. Mayu brought her paws in as close to the den as she could, but it still didn't do much. Her paws were still soaked.

Mina let out a whimper as the lighting flashed. Her only source of comfort was her father. Bat held no qualms about comforting his frightened daughter. Thunder and lighting were her greatest fears.

"Don't worry, it's alright." Bat soothed and a flash and a crackle caused Mina to sink further into his fur.

"Daddy, make the storm go away!" Mina whined.

"Mina shut up!" Wing yelled with a moan following. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He didn't really remember much of what happened last night, and he had a terrible headache. He ran his paws over his pounding temples and blinked his bloodshot eyes. "I don't feel good." He whined.

The only puppy who seemed complacent was Kuro. Between his ill brother and scared sister, he didn't seem phased at all. He just wondered how his mother handled all this seeing as he knew what her temper was like.

Saying Mayu wasn't happy was an understatement. The twig she was chewing on was practically in ribbons by now. Her grinding halted as she felt a rub against her fur. She looked down to see Kuro cuddling up to her, looking on with a sympathetic face. It helped Mayu a bit, but they would be a stuck here until the storm passed, and until Wing got better.

"It's going to be a long road to Ohu," she said to herself.

XXXX

No one had ever been as tired as they were now.

Kuro crawled along, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Mina and Wing struggled in front of him, feet plodding and stumbling. In the very front, Bat and Mayu trudged on, faces exhausted and fur sticking up at all different angles. They had been walking for five days now.

Every day, they had went on, scrambling over fallen branches and brambles. While these were a mere nuisance to Mayu and Bat, they were formidable and vicious forests that ripped and tore at tender noses and fur to the puppies. Kuro's nose was chapped and sore. Wing and Mina felt stretched and aching.

Wing had recovered from his hangover in the cave, though the little episode had gained him extra attention from his parents. They had not let him out of their sight since then, and he was forced to always stick to Mayu or Bat whenever they set off. But a far more bitter and effective punishment was the rationing of food. Whenever Bat or Mayu caught a bit of prey, they torn it into shreds, passing the meat to their puppies. Since they didn't know when they would catch something next, each bit of food had to be divided equally and on the spot, no matter how small. Wing had to eat the same amount as Mina and petite Kuro, a feat that always left his stomach grumbling and protesting. Though he had gone hungry before at the old forest home, he was at least allowed to complain about it before being shushed and told to take a nap in the sun or the back of the den. Now, naps were impossible, and Wing was far too tired to complain.

Mina was fairing slightly better, having adapted much more quickly than Wing to their grueling and small diet. She had not inherited the stringy ears and fur of her mother, something that spared her from much of the torture her two brothers went through when-ever they fought against bushes or thorns. On the other hand, she was having trouble keeping her whining in and crying in check. Though her mother had cut her some slack after the days walking had proved to have a devastating effect on all of them, not just Mina, she still expected her daughter to shoulder the miles and meager amounts of food better than her two brothers, or at the very least just as well. This made Mina more quiet and withdrawn whenever they were walking along after their rest for the night– she couldn't trust anything that came out of her mouth once she became tired. What if it was a complaint, something that disappointed her mother? It was better to remain silent and focus on her father's moving back as they walked along in their little group.

Kuro was the least adaptive and aggressive of the group, and he was paying for it deeply. The runt of the litter required the least amount of food… and the most amount of attention and rest. He was always in the middle when they started their walks, but walking over twisted roots, waiting for Bat to find the scent, fighting through weeds, and piling the miles up on each other always left him lagging at the very back by the end of the first hour. Mayu or Bat would always turn around, walk to the back, and pick Kuro by his scruff. He was then deposited back amongst his siblings or on one of his parents' backs. Wing and Mina felt some anger and envy towards their brother. He was the only one who was carried, and the only one who picked up without question. All the same, their anger and envy only went to a certain extent. It was obvious their brother was much worse off than they were, and he never got in any gloating shots from laying over their parents' backs– if anything, he looked like a limp black rag.

Straggling along in a zigzagging line through woods and around thin streams, the family did their best to keep a straight course, though Bat's notions about where Ohu and Futago Pass were barely above vague. They slept near the bases of trees or the overhangs of rock piles, digging out little dents in the ground for beds. Water was taken from whatever stream they came to next, the travelers sticking to the stream as long as possible before Bat's nose lead them off again. Several times Mayu and Bat spotted coyotes or foxes, and were forced to stop their tired journey in order to keep their brood from being easily picked off. It was a painful and arduous trip, testing everyone's tempers in the beginning and ending with everyone being too tired to fight. Mina, Kuro, and Wing all slept in a little tangled pile of limbs and fur whenever resting time came, snoring away, while Bat or Mayu either tightly curled up in their own dents or lay next to each other, heads resting on their mate's back. No one hardly talked at rest– they were too busy conserving their own energy.

Kuro, Wing, and Mina hardly knew the meaning of a joyless life. They were energy filled puppies. They had notions of joy and outbursts of energy whenever they were awake, and found entertainment in just smelling new scents and going after them.

But they came very close to learning what it was on their trip to Ohu. Happiness had a damper put on it, and it the struggling, purely animalistic and instinctive life they were using to travel to the forest was beginning to drive them crazy. In fact, it was beginning to drive ALL of them crazy.

And it would have, if it wasn't for the fifth day.

XXXX

Sasuke yawned sleepily, stretching his legs and flicking his ears back. The sun warmed his apricot coat, making him feel even more droopy. He tried to keep his eyes open.

"I don't need Weed or GB to come by and see me sleeping on watch. But the sun is making me so tiiiirrreeeeed…." his last word drifted off into another yawn, and he smacked his mouth together several times. Sasuke had always had a habit of talking to himself, and it hadn't changed when he'd gotten to Ohu. Now he just made sure to speak to himself only when he was alone.

Sasuke drooped in the warm air. He was supposed to be on watch duty, but the place he'd been positioned sentry at just so happened to be on top of a warm, flat rock under some indirect rays of sun. The perfect place for a dog to fall asleep.

"Ach, ach!" Sasuke say, shaking himself and pulling himself back up. He blinked rapidly. "I hate guard duty, but I have to stay awake. There could be bears. Or invaders. Or monsters. Or maybe–"

A squirrel screeched, bounding through the branches and making Sasuke jump with a surprised yelp. He hunched down, shuddering for a second, before he pulled himself up.

"Stupid squirrel! Go somewhere else!" he barked. The squirrel made a few chattering noises before vanishing.

Grumbling to himself again, Sasuke looked out from the hilltop he was positioned on. Futago Pass was full of sharp little hills that rose up to almost ninety degree drops. But it didn't stop trees from growing on them. They covered the back of the hill, climbing it and leaning over the edge. Rough green shrubs and bushes grew on the more level areas around rivers or in the break between hills. Right now was barely after midday, and the sun was still shining vigorously through the trees, forming sharp patches of light.

Sasuke was around the side entrance to Futago Pass.

A rather long way from Gajou for just a sentry mission, that was to be sure. But he didn't really care. GB, Ken, and Rocket had taken to teasing him about his "cowardly" nature from being a pet dog, and he had had enough of it. They were being just as bad as John had been when Sasuke had first met Gin. Okay, so maybe not quite that bad. Very few dogs could match up to the arrogance level John had been. But John was a hero, and a deceased one at that, so all was forgiven. On the other hand, GB, Ken, and Rocket certainly weren't heroes. Sasuke snorted, inhaling some pollen. As a result, he huffed several times before sneezing heavily.

"Aaa… aaa… ACHOO!"

Sasuke sniffed, pawing at his nose. "Stupid pollen." He sniffed a few more times. "Only bees need pollen, not dogs."

He looked down the steep hill. Rocks poked out of the side, grass growing between them. The ground sloped out to a flatter position after the hill, going forward for around twenty or thirty feet before it was funneled between two more edge hills. A thin tunnel. He twisted his head to look at it. It really was small. No monsters or armies were certainly going to come through that. In fact, there was nothing threatening whatsoever about the forest.

Sasuke sighed. "This really was a waste of time… I wonder what GB's doing. Probably stuffing his face along with Rocket and Weed and Ken, and laughing at me. Why'd I have to volunteer to come here? They were just teasing, and trying to get someone else to take the job."

He flattened his ears against his head, drooping. The group had only been messing with him when they'd teased him about being a coward because of his pet dog history, but he still took it harder than he was supposed to. He was sick of hearing about Ken defeating Bat, and Rocket saving them in the blizzard, and GB's spy mission… which he'd been totally unaware of till the end of it, even though he himself had been pressed into Hougen's army. Whenever he tried to pipe up, and remind them that it was he who had told Gin about Weed, he was simply pushed aside. Not in a bad way. Just in an amused poking-fun way. But he wanted something to gloat about, too.

So when someone said they needed a sentry for the outskirts of Futago Pass, though not too far from Gajou, Sasuke happily volunteered, taking the time to mock everyone else before he left. They had enthusiastically responded, yelling at him that he was an idiot for doing the work when he could've taken something else, and then telling him not to get eaten by a bear before his shift was over. Sasuke had insulted them back before vanishing into the Futago Pass forest. GB had said the job was boring, but he would show him! He'd hold off an invasion… or spot a dog… or kill a rabbit… or kill a butterfly… or see something actually move…

Okay, so the job was incredibly boring.

But not-so-deep down, Sasuke really didn't want anything to happen. He couldn't fight very well; insecurity was still a large element for him when it came to physical abilities. Why hope for something exciting to happen when the exciting thing would more than likely result with dead or taken prisoner by some foe? Best not to tempt fate.

Sasuke yawned yet again, this time finally deciding to give in to some of his natural urges. He stretched his front legs out, chest scraping the ground, and then settled down, back legs coming down last. In fact, he had laid his head down and was ready go to sleep when he heard the leaves crunching.

Annoyed, he opened one eye. "The squirrels really need to stop bothering me…"

There were no squirrels. Instead, the crunching noises came from a short distance away. The path between the hills. In fact, Sasuke could hear voices, and the approaching sound of tromping feet. Someone was coming.

For a moment, Sasuke was stunned. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. _Of all the times for strangers to appear…! _Sasuke leapt to his feet, fur bristling. His tail lowered, almost coming in between his legs. He swallowed. Maybe they were friendly. Lots of dogs came to Ohu now, and none of them were evil like Hougen had been.

The rustling noises came closer. To Sasuke's further horror, he suddenly realized that there was more than one dog– maybe four or five! A group! Some spies! His tail completely dropped down, curling inward to the point that it brushed against his belly.

"Aw hell, what should I do, what should I do–"

A black nose peeked around the road corner, followed by a black muzzle. Some white ears came into view. Sasuke needed no more prompting. He lit off, running as fast as he could down the other side of the hill. Yes, he should have stopped and confronted the dogs, but he was attacked out here, there was going to be no one to help him– particularly if he was outnumbered.

Tongue hanging out of his mouth, Sasuke ran for all he was worth, easily weaving through the trees thanks to his size. He needed to warn Weed– there were strangers coming to Ohu!


	15. Chapter 15

So this was peace? Weed's sigh was almost relief. Then again, maybe it was relief. It certainly sounded like that. But at this point, relief would be a feeling that would be most deserved. The fighting, it had gone on for so long. Weed had never been used to bloodshed, being born into a peaceful life with his mother.

"Mother." Weed spoke softly in a whisper. How he wished she could be here to see this. She would have loved Ohu in its current state, that and being with her mate, Gin, his father, the leader of Ohu, at least, the former leader of Ohu. Suddenly Weed felt a pressure upon his shoulders. Although the final battle with Hougan had long passed, Weed still questioned his father's choice in making him the leader, especially at his age. But perhaps this current peace related to , it would be something unheard of in a crazy world, but Weed offered it, even to his enemies. Only through peace and understanding could victory be maintained in a way. Anything else would force the same cycle in a never-ending, murderous circle. Perhaps that is what his father saw– Ohu needed a young, new heart to lead it soldiers, someone with fresh ideals and goals.

"Ahhhh!" G.B. settled down beside Weed. "This is the life." the laid back hound made himself comfortable.

"Wouldn't you say Weed?" Weed grinned at his godfather. Honestly, this was good. Spring was all around them springing up as new life spread abundantly.

"Yeah, spring, it's so beautiful." Suddenly, Weed felt a presence next to him. Looking behind the forming shadow, Weed saw a German Shepard looming above.

"Jerome." Weed said in slight surprise. His friend looked serious for a moment, that is until a grin spread upon his face, and he too settled down amongst his leader and fellow soldier.

"This is the spring I wanted to see." Jerome spoke earnestly. Indeed, Jerome was glad that he had managed to live through this war. A few injuries, one nearly even cost him his life. But he kept on, doing it for those who had fallen, and for those who had yet to be born. "But how long will it last?" Jerome grew serious for a sudden moment.

"Hmm?" Weed piped.

"Oh please, don't think about that!" G.B. exclaimed. "Just when I got good and calm." G.B. obviously didn't like the sound of more fighting. Weed didn't think of it either, he much rather would concentrate on keeping the current peace they had obtained. But in the back of his mind, he held that fear, something Jerome probably shared.

How long would it last? He had talked to his father about such things, and frankly he held the same sentiments as Jerome. Gin was honest with his son, mentioning even after Akakabuto's death, war still followed. Or rather he was referencing the conflicts with a wolf pack, that and the recent trials they faced. It would seem that war and peace went hand in hand, following after one another in an eternal conflict of strife. Weed deflated for a moment. Apparently eternal peace may be a long gone prospect.

"Don't get discouraged." Jerome prodded, sensing the pup's mood. "You're the leader now, the others will come to you for guidance."

Weed responded with a grin, then quickly hid it away with a determined expression, a leaders look he supposed. Even if he was in a position of command, he still nonetheless was a child. A child who was forced to grow up, too early in some opinions. He had to remain strong. "The others are getting restless aren't they?" Weed asked.

Jerome nodded. "Ken and Kagetora mostly, but some of the younger soldiers are starting to join in."

This didn't sit well with G.B.. "Great. Can't they just enjoy good times when they happen?"

Weed agreed partially, but he knew the others were having the same urge to stretch their legs. It was engrained in their blood, particularly those who were descended from decorated Ohu soldiers. Perhaps Weed could feel it as well, being the son of the great Gin, the one who fell the demon bear, or his bear hound bloodline. Whatever the case may be, he still felt divided, one part to fight, the other part for peace.

"LEADER!" Weed was jolted from his thoughts but the approaching voice of Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Weed called.

The Shiba Inu ran up to the trio with much urgency permeating his steps and his voice if read correctly.

"What's wrong?" Weed asked. Sasuke's breathes became heavy.

"I…was…there…I…saw…strangers!" Sasuke managed to breath out a few breaths.

"What are you trying to say?" G.B. asked additionally.

Sasuke slowed his breaths down before he answered again. "Strangers! I saw them heading towards Ohu!"

This news brought everyone to attention. "How many? Did you get a good look at them?" Jerome asked, his body strengthening.

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, even raising a paw, but lowered it immediately afterwards. "Uh….well no…..I kind of ran before I got a good look." he sheepishly admitted. "But I swear! They're coming!"

Despite the lack of information on the lookout's part, they had to take his word for it. He wouldn't be coming here for no reason. Strangers? Good or bad? There were still no news of their intentions, so they didn't know how else to react accordingly.

"I suppose we should go greet them?" Jerome suggested. His voice indicated non violence in their approach, but his body said otherwise. Obviously he wanted to be ready both ways. Weed did the same, and so they were off. Hopefully they wouldn't have to apply the latter force.

XXX

"I don't wanna walk any more!" Wing whined. The little mixed breed pup plopped himself upon the hard ground, not caring if it wasn't comfortable. Anything was better than walking.

"Wing, please not now." Mayu pleaded. "I know you're tired, but we need to keep going."

"I don't care! I'm tired! I'm hungry!" Wing protested.

"WING!" Bat chided, ending his child's little tantrum. "Don't speak to your mother in such a manner."

Wing opened his mouth, but wisely shut it. The journey had been long and hard, they had walked for a great duration of the day. Mayu and Bat were holding up well, while the pups, not so much. Mayu and Bat had given so many rides to their young ones. By now their backs practically had imprints where their children settled. Well not really, but they had served as carriers several intervals. Wing had been the only pup who stubbornly refused to be carried, and now he was paying for it.

Annoying as her son may have been acting, she wished to offer him some form of relief.

"Bat, how far do we have to go?" she whispered to her mate.

"Not far now." Bat whispered back.

"You've said that before and here we are." Mayu smartly retorted.

Bat groaned. "Mayu, I mean it this time."

Bat heard a tiny whimper beside him. "Daddy, are we going to be there soon?" Mina asked, her eyes growing larger with each whimper.

"Yeah dad!" Kuro piped up. Bat had no idea how to react to this. Sometimes being a father still felt new to him.

"I promise you all, we'll be there soon, just a little further now." Bat soothed, hoping it would quench his families impatience.

"HALT!" A voice loudly called, its pitch picking up a threatening tone.

Mina Kuro, and even Wing bolted from his tired feet at the sound of the voice. The three of them hid behind their mother instinctively. Bat had no idea who the voice belonged to, but he stood ready to defend his family. From atop a small cliff, a figure leapt down haphazardly a tad as it stumbled in the descent. The figure now showed itself as a Shiba Inu. Mayu noted how small the dog was, it didn't appear very strong. If it meant trouble, she was certain either of them could take care of it.

"Alright you! Tell me who you are and." The unknown male stopped in mid sentence as he took a good look at the growling labrador.

"Wait a moment. You're Bat!" Bat's ears twitted in surprise.

"So you know my name?" Bat replied, curious as to how he did. Then again, he had somewhat of a reputation, even before he joined Hougan.

"It's me, Sasuke!" The Shiba answered.

Bat titled his head in surprise. "Sasuke? Never heard of you."

"Oh come on! We fought together." Sasuke took a few steps forward, but Bat, sensing the approach, only increased his growls and protective stance. Sasuke halted and backed off. A sigh escaped him, sometimes it stunk being unknown.

"Sasuke!" Three more voices followed alerting the family as they saw a young Shiba Inu, and two an adult German Sheppard and English Setter. The trio of unknown dogs stopped near their comrade, and stopped as they noticed the dog that stood before them. "Bat?" the youngest dog recognized that voice, and that scent. In fact, he recognized the other two scents with him.

"Leader?" sniffing the air before him, he confirmed it. Immediately, Bat bowed his head in respect, something Mayu had never seen before. More specifically, she noticed their eyes fell upon her, that and the three who curiously peeked out from behind her.

"Bat?" G.B. was the first to speak up as he noticed the female and pups. Jerome didn't know what to say to the whole thing, while Weed blinked.

"Bat? Are these yours?" Bat raised himself up, noting that his family was noticed. A flash of pride crossed his face, and puffed out his chest.

"Yes, this is my mate Mayu, and our children, Wing, Mina, and Kuro." the three pups made themselves visible as their names were spoken.

Wing and the others were still dumbfounded by the site, yet a happy laugh came from Weed. "Congratulations!" he cheered. "Mayu, children, this is Weed, the leader of Ohu." Bat addressed.

"This kid?" Mayu spoke out in surprise. A child? A leader? This was something she didn't expect. From what Bat had told her, the leader of Ohu was a dog who could rally others together, inspiring hope and victory. This took her aback, but she bowed her head, offering a simple "hello" as a greeting. Then she noticed their looks, they were brief, but she could see them, the Setter and the Sheppard, each giving brief glances at her. Her eyes fell upon Weed, the supposed leader of this place, as she noticed a similar expression starting to form.

"Wow! Are you really the boss of this place!" Wing asked excitedly, forgetting his earlier gripes. He and his siblings had left their mother's side, and formed a tight circle around Weed.

"You're just a puppy like us!" Mina noticed the age of the older dog. "Do you really know our dad!" Kuro curiously asked. Weed found this all amusing; it reminded him of himself at that age.

"Pups!" Bat called his offspring back to him, who of course obediently obeyed. Bat once more bowed his head. "Leader, I apologize for leaving, but I must humbly sake if I could return with my family. My mate and I believe Ohu would be the best place to raise our children."

Weed didn't need a moment to think about it. "Of course you can stay. You're all welcome here!"

Soft hearted, Mayu could immediately tell that about the young dog. That could cause dissension. For experience came with age. As much as she felt reservations on their choice of command, she felt peace at mind. At last she and her family had a home, somewhere they would be safe. All of five of them followed the quartet. But there she saw it again, brief little glances, and she could swear she heard faint traces of whispers.

"She looks like her, doesn't she?"

XXXX

Through the bit of an ache in his belly and his sore paws, Kuro was completely overwhelmed. Scents, voices, and dogs of all sizes and shapes were everywhere, and pressing down upon him. They were darting around him, or sitting nearby, or just running past his face like a whirl of color. He couldn't really tell what was what and who was who. He'd lost track of his family in the crowd; exhaustion was bogging him down, and things seemed to be fuzzy and defocused.

"Ah, and who are you?" Kuro jumped with a yelp as he came face to face with a giant black spotted head. The settler chuckled, moving back.

"Don't be scared– I didn't mean to surprise you. You're a really little thing; almost a pipsqueak!"

He moved his head closer, black fringy ears dangling. Kuro gulped.

"So, what's your name?" Despite the disorienting spots all over the dog's face, there was no menacing look to him, and he had a good natured tone. But even his friendly appearance still made Kuro recoil slightly. He struggled to find words as he looked at the dog's anticipating eyes.

"Kuro, come here!" Kuro almost gave another jump as he heard his mother calling him. Both of them looked towards the sound of her voice. Kuro turned his head to see what the stranger was doing at the exact same time the stranger turned back to look at him. As a result, he was close enough to smell the duck on the dog's breath, and almost feel the warmth.

"Well," the dog said, "You had better go. Your mother's calling you." He grinned. "I don't think she'd like to be kept waiting."

"R-right," Kuro forced out a stuttering reply. Stumbling, he quickly got up and ran towards his family. The last thing he wanted was to be left behind.

GB snorted in amusement. "Nervous little pup."

XXXX

The family made their way through Ohu, heading towards the fresh prey pile and a place they could rest. Mayu and Bat did their best to keep all of the pups together among the hectic scene, the sight of many others and the feeling of reaching their destination having given Mina and Wing a sudden burst of energy. To them, it seemed like the whole group was up and at arms to greet them, more dogs than they had ever imagined coming towards them in one place.

In truth, barely an eighth of the group was greeting them, the majority of the dogs just still lazing about where they were or barely giving a little acknowledgement to the news of newcomers. Ohu was attracting more dogs than ever now, so there was no need for them to get up in a tussle over a lot that wasn't even composed of old war buddies or packmates. There were greetings specifically for Bat, though they often extended to Mayu and the puppies once they caught sight of them.

As Mayu picked up the tired Kuro in order to carry him, she couldn't help but note that most of the greetings were directed towards Bat before they turned to her. She wouldn't regularly have a problem with this, but it wasn't as if they were greeting Bat just because he was an old comrade. It was as if they had a small fear that talking to her first would be offensive; 'flirting' with 'Bat's female' would set him off. It was like they were seeking permission from him to talk to her.

Mayu felt a sting of indignation, Kuro's scruff the only thing preventing her from speaking. Her hackles bristled slightly. Oh, she could see their thoughts now. There weren't many females here– that much she could already see– and it was obvious that she was going to have to claw herself out a place above a walking pair of ovaries. She had barely returned back to the male dominated world, and Mayu was already beginning to feel a challenge forming among the warm welcome.

Wing and Mina both wished they had several different sets of eyes so that they could see all that was around them better. Turning their heads back and forth was just not a good enough way to take everything in. The forest had been a world of a sunken stone den and snarled piles of brambles and bushes, of the smell of the fox and coyote that haunted their parents and made them stay closer together. Ohu, on the other hand, was a place of sharp hills, mountains, and valleys; giant boulders and razors of granite or slate sticking out of the ground. Trees latched on to every foot of ground that they could that wasn't covered in rock, though they left enough space to run through or have clearings here and there.

If there was any smell of fox, then it was drowning in the scents of dogs. Hounds, settlers, and mutts of all breeds were spread out over the ground. Some were talking or arguing, others were sleeping, or walking about all over the place like a nest of disturbed ants, and a small portion was eating, bird, rabbit, or scaly creature (_Fish? _thought Wing) held between their paws as they tore away at it. A few more dogs were walking in from the forest and rejoining with the crowd, sitting down or pausing to dispense a few friendly insults or cuffs before moving on.

There were next to no puppies.

Mina felt herself beginning to yawn, pausing for a moment as her father stopped to have a brief chat with one of the new dogs. Next to her, Kuro hung from their mother's mouth, close to asleep. Wing, on the other hand, was shoving away his sleepiness to look at those surrounding them. This was an opportunity he just couldn't miss, no matter how tired he was.

Swallowing down his yawns, he almost ran into Bat as the latter stopped suddenly. Mina gave a small laugh. Wing shot her a dirty look before backing up and watching his father. He twitched his ears at them.

"We can find a place in one of the spots nearby. We'll eat later."

Mayu adjusted Kuro's scruff in her mouth before giving Mina and Kuro a look, one that told them to follow. They didn't try to argue. Running after their parents, the two scrambled to find the best place to sleep on a nearby springy patch of ground. They crashed into each other, having a brief tussle before they decided that they were too tired to continue.

Mina rolled over so that she was a few inches away from Wing and wearily made several circles before settling down in the grass. She watched the activity around them. Nothing had been this loud before, and there was no den. Just a patch of dirt and grass. Next to her, her family settled down, Mayu letting loose of Kuro and allowing him to find a bed. He barely staggered over a few inches away before he was out for the count, not bothering to make a comfort circle.

Wing plopped down next to his father, sprawling out as if every single bit of space was his and completely disregarding his sister. Mayu watched her exhausted family rest, though she and Bat didn't join in on their nap. They simply laid down, heads raised and stoic, though taking every-thing in. The greetings were not as frequent as before, and so the two were left to watch the shifting crowd and make sure none of the puppies got into trouble when they awakened.

As much as Mayu felt tired, and irked by the tiny grain of sand that was a challenge in the pearl's mouth of Ohu, she for once didn't worry about the foxes and predators. Stifling a tired yawn, she focused on the amount of dogs around her. Though they had warmly welcomed her into the fold, this wasn't the first time she'd been mislead to join a big 'family.' Still…

Mayu couldn't bring herself to pull out any paranoia considering Ohu. As she watched the different dogs mill around them, replying to a new greeting now and then or nodding in response, her uneasiness was minimal. Maybe the lack of emotion was thanks to her exhaustion. She wasn't too sure– emotions had never been repressed by her tiredness before; particularly any fiery , all she could do was rest and then wait to see what happened.

XXXX

A Day Later

XXXX

There seemed to be mostly ground prey here at Ohu, with only a few birds here and there.

Mayu didn't feel as hungry as before as she watched several more fresh kills deposited spread out among friends or tauntingly thrown around into others' faces, followed by uproarious laughter. Bat was taking care of the puppies for a few minutes, leaving her to find some food for them and get used to Ohu on her own.

It was her second day, and she had been mostly accepted without another look. Weed and the German Sheppard– whose name was apparently Jerome– had paid her and the family a visit yesterday. It had been a quick one, with a few questions about the outside here and there. Relatively unimportant.

Mayu felt a small twinge as she watched two dogs playfully quarrel and throw a squirrel back and forth, snapping in the air and throwing the dead animal by its tail. The young leader had barely questioned her about any intentions or purposes regarding her arrival to Ohu. Seeing she was Bat's mate was apparently enough for him, though the German Sheppard– Jerome– had had a slightly cool undercurrent to his voice. Like he should.

One of the dogs finally ended the game of squirrel snatching by crunching the body down and beginning to eat it. Protesting, the other dog attempted to his prey back, but to no avail. It was swallowed down, leaving the indignant dog to have to wait for the next hunting trip to leave camp before he could have his lunch.

Mayu found that she had been annoyed by the naïve and open way the leader had greeted them all. She could definitely understand them trusting her for being related to Bat, an old comrade of theirs, but he had pulled in her into the fold a little too swiftly. If he did the same with marauding strangers, than maybe he was _too_ naïve. It was good that his apparent deputy or advisor main-tained at least a small level of suspicion. Mayu found herself approving. There was kindness, and then there was blindness. The leader seemed to be a bit of both. Possibly from his young age. But the experience would come sure enough.

"Oi, a new hunt's starting. Who's coming this time?" a large dog roared, standing and preparing to leave. Three or four other dogs scrambled to their feet, a few giving some stretches before they did. Mayu herself rose up, walking forward. She didn't like any of the spare pieces of prey that had been lying around– maybe going on a hunt would yield better results. Like birds.

Following the small group, they plodded away from the masses, walking in a loose triangle. There was a spaniel mix, a Shiba Inu, some sort of mutt, a hulking but young mastiff, a young Saluki, and an Irish Settler, Mayu not included in the list. The mutt was leading the party out, though he took to it without any serious aim, just a wayward and lazy attempt to find food. The rest of the party set out to the goal with a far more vigorous air; the spaniel and mastiff heading off to look by a small creek, Shiba Inu searching the brushes and bushes with the settler, and Mayu stuck with the mutt and the young Saluki.

The group drifted off towards the more open areas, where birds were more likely to lurk. Mayu observed the Saluki before they set off, mentally making sure to watch what spots he searched in for birds. Seeing they shared tastes, there was no doubt in her mind that he would know the most plentiful places for them. All she had to do was give him a brief watch before heading out on her own.

"Hoi, looks like I got stuck with the bird dogs," the mutt commented. His speckled ears raised, one shorter than the other. "Going to be hard to tell you two apart in the dark, eh, George?"

"Shut up, Bink," the Saluki said disinterestedly, and then the talking was over.

Mayu didn't bother replying to him either. The mutt had been obviously trying to start up a conversation, not aiming to present an actual argument– it would be easy to tell the two apart, seeing "George", though much younger than Mayu, was distinctly bigger, and with defining face scars to go with his size. An adult, but not one as old as Mayu. Much like some of the rouges she'd encountered back before Bat and the forest came along, around the same time frame she'd been forced to eat a rotting fish out of hunger– all of them very unsocial and cocky in general. Not that they didn't have the strength and speed to back up their cockiness.

The best thing to do here would be to leave the Saluki to his own devices and thoughts: he certainly wasn't pleasant company, or in any hurry to talk to either of them. Mayu hadn't been interested in doing so to start with, seeing she just wanted food, preparing to save the socializing for when she reached the camp again, but this just put the cap on it.

The mutt ventured off to find some smaller land prey in the bushes, leaving the two Salukis to hunt the aerial pickings. The three split apart, quickly picking up on scents and beginning to stalk them. Mayu had no need to watch where George headed, as the heady scent of grouse filled her nose a mere three minutes later from when she began to stalk. She could ask about choice spots later– or even better yet, find them herself.

Mayu began to stalk the grouse.

XXXX

Close to an hour later, the bird was hanging from Mayu's mouth, limp and cold. It matched the pheasant which drooped out of the corners of the other Saluki's mouth, and the rabbit which hung from the mutt's. Mayu felt a little bit of triumph in catching it. She would take it back to Bat and everyone else, seeing she herself wasn't really all that hungry. A few unfortunate voles had taken the edge of her hunger a little while earlier.

Now with their mouths full, the three walked back to the camp. None of them said anything to each other. There was really nothing to discuss, though the atmosphere was anything but tense or unwelcoming. It just felt good to be walking in a group, to have some sort of company and a beating heart nearby.

eorge was slightly in front of the group, so they just automatically drifted in his direction as they went into the camp. The others who had come out on the trip would come back in by themselves in a little while– they still wanted to try their chances longer. Mayu didn't object.

She lazily followed George inside the camp, the mutt to the left of her, George to her left and center. As they came through the bushes, there were a few yelled greetings, and a comment or two.

"Hey, Bink, what the hell have you been up to? Looking for scraps? That thing is pitiful!"

"Shut up, whelp, it's better than you can do on a good day!" Bink immediately fired back.

"Nice birds you got there."

"Nice? Pfft! Hey, George," a brown furred Great Dane called teasingly, "where've you been? Wandering around the forest?"

"Shut up, Ken," George said through his clenched teeth in order to keep the bird from falling out.

Highly amused, Mayu walked past them to deliver the bird. No doubt Wing would be driving Bat crazy by now.

"You going to take the bird to mom?"

Mina was probably hungry, too.

"In a minute."

Kuro might have been hungry, but smallest one of her bunch never complained. He needed to become a bit more aggressive, or Wing would always walk over him. Maybe she could try and help him out with it.

Then, the world stopped.

Mayu hadn't known it was stopping until she'd looked up and seen the dog relaxing under the shade of a bush. For a moment, the world had tuned out as she'd seen the dog's face. Old, with the once white fur shot in with some grey. Not too much, though. There was white yet inside that coat. A sign of being well taken care of, even in age. There were not too many scars on the slender muzzle and legs, though there was some wrinkles under the eyes. But they were few. Another sign of good care in age.

For what seemed to be a few minutes, but what Mayu guessed was really seconds, the dog was looking towards the approaching Saluki and the Great Dane. They were still far off from everything, but it was the way the dog was looking towards them that seemed to stab the knife in Mayu's belly in further. Awaiting them. Awaiting those that had called her _mom,_ because that what was she was. _Mom. _To them. And to two other someone elses. Someone who wasn't here anymore, brought down in the beginning of prime, and someone who was slowly choking on the bird hanging out of her mouth at this very moment.

Then, the other dogs damned her. They opened their mouths, and their words floated through the frozen world's surface far faster than their movements.

"Cross–"

Mayu didn't hear what else they had said. The blood pounding through her head and making her fur bristle up like she'd bitten into a power line silenced everything else out with its savage roar. All she heard was Cross's ticket to hell being punched in.

The world wasn't really frozen. Mayu just happened to be seeing everything three times faster than everyone else thanks to the adrenaline that was tearing through her veins. The only one who existed and needed to receive any of her actions was the dog in front of her, the one lounging under the bushes. Who was _well taken care of._

In a few quick and pounding steps, Mayu had arrived next to her. She wasn't looking up fast enough. The bird fell out of her mouth, neck bitten in two. Cross only had a few seconds to look up and catch sight of the unholy terror that was the expression on Mayu's face, not even enough to get out a single word to begin a snarl.

"_You._"

Mayu's vicious snarl curdled the air around her. She might've heard a few voices nearby, or seen some actions, but they were nothing. She was looking at the surprised expression on the dog's face. It wasn't changing yet. Nothing. She had forgotten. _She had forgotten._

If Mayu's rage was immense before, some sort of floodgate deep inside her completely snapped, going to pieces and shattering into nothing. This floodgate had shattered only once before: when Mao had been taken to be sacrificed. Even then, it was not a real breaking, just an opening. On the other hand, this was a complete and utter deconstruction, an explosion. Shock may have been the dynamite, but rage was the fuse… or had been. Because right then, the floodgate exploded.

"CROSS, YOU FUCKING TRAITOROUS _BITCH!_"

Mayu's roar cut the very air open, a screaming snarl exploding from her mouth. There were some distant barks of surprise, and some swearing nearby, but Mayu ignored the sound of footsteps rushing over or backing away. The older Saluki had gotten up, a snarl beginning to form her lips, but Mayu's head was pounding too hard for her to care. How dare she _forget._ How dare she throw everything away, like they were garbage from an unimportant trash pile!

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO AFTER THESE EIGHT YEARS?"

Something flickered on the older dog's face. The footsteps had gotten more urgent, and dogs were beginning to gather. Mayu's snarl was almost to the point of ripping her very throat open.

"WHEN YOU'RE A FUCKING _MOTHER, _YOU ACTUALLY COME _BACK! YOU DON'T LEAVE THEM TO ROT SOMEWHERE UNTIL THEY CAN COME AND FIND YOU AFTER A DECADE OR SO!_"

At that point, what Mayu wanted to happen did: a look of recognizing clicked inside Cross. A look of complete shock and horror spread across her face, as if a dead corpse had just crawled out of the ground. Except much, much worse. Which was exactly what Mayu planned to be.

"No– it's impossible– you're… you're…"Cross's words seemed to be strangled in her throat. Mayu could hear snarling coming up from behind her as George and Ken swore, tearing their way through the crowd. No doubt they were planning to take her down for this, but Mayu could've cared less. Her blood was so boiling, fighting them would be welcome. But not until she'd gotten this out. Because once she'd said this, she could go to hell itself and get some satisfaction out of it.

"That's right," Mayu said, venom and biting sarcasm dripping from her voice, "It's your dear _daughter, _here to see you after so long."

XXXX

Cross would have to say her life was good, her life in Ohu that is. Everything was perfect. Though her past had been filled with trials, she had found everything she needed here, a mate, children, comrades, a perfect family, the former two fit that ideal far better. Most dogs could dream of such a life. Although she had all that in her old life, this time it felt more complete. She didn't think much about her old life, her life prior to becoming an Ohu soldier. A life that ended on betrayal, loss, and letting go.

Sometimes she couldn't believe Ken and George were adults now. It seemed just yesterday they were two young pups suckling from her belly. Never could one find a prouder mother. The boys were definitely their father's sons. They weren't her little boys anymore. But she wondered what would have become of her little girl? Miney's death had been like a knife in her gut, twisting into her intestines, reaching into her heart. But such was the hard life of an Ohu soldier. Many had fallen, and more so would in the future. So many questions arose as to her deceased daughter's possible future. One question came with prominence. Would Miney have settled down with a nice male? Cross wanted grandchildren, only mentioning it at sparse moments in between her life.

She supposed every parent held that same desire, particularly if a strong male wanted his line to continue. Ken and George had yet to find mates, and there was no telling if they would find any in their lives. Honestly, she started to think she would die without being a grandmother. She and Ben were not getting any younger. Although she wouldn't obsess over it, if it didn't happen, it didn't happen. Life continued to be good nonetheless. That is until today. Just when she had thought every bit of her past had been buried, a reminder showed up.

Cross had never seen the strange female before, must have been a new recruit. Cross had half a mind to give this female a piece of her mind, more so after she insulted her. The female however caught her first. As Cross sat there listening to the sling of words spewed forth from the irate female, one world caused something within her to crack:

"Mother."

Although she didn't show it much, Cross had been repressing a bad memory from her past. So far she had managed to hold it at bay. All thanks could go to her new happy life, but now, this female had brought it to surface. Finally, Cross noticed something about this young dog. First it was the fur, white and silky, then there was the likeness and scent, the latter begin long forgotten on her nose. Mot of all, it was the voice. Before Cross's eyes, she saw herself, eight years younger.

There was a part of herself that many Ohu warriors didn't know. Mostly the younger generation, but some of the older warriors knew it well. Cross had been a mother before birthed Ben's offspring. Before another word could get out, Cross saw her sons come up from behind the female. The female was surprised by the slightly younger canines. All around, the crowd of dogs watched the three way brawl.

"Ken! George! Stop!" Cross called, but her sons didn't stop.

Their growls went higher than her own pleas. Ken and George had inherited their father's strength, the fight showed as much. Yet, the female held her own. It couldn't be certain if she held the same amount of strength, but she held a greater advantage in speed. With it, she was able to gain some advantage over her male opponents. In fact, she didn't seem so weak in the physical department.

The fight however had to stop. Biting, clawing, snarling, it all went on. Ken grabbed the female's right ear, George reached for her left hind leg, the female prepared to counterattack. All of this was too much for Cross. No mother wanted to see her children fighting amongst themselves.

"BOYS STOP IT!" Cross's pleas arched her son's ears.

"Mom?" Ken asked confused.

"But she said–" George added in, not understanding why their mother would stop them from defending her honor.

"Please." Cross gave one more plea.

With reluctance, Ken and George let the female go, but they went to their mother, forming a protective barrier. Whoever this stranger was, she seemed to have some kind of grudge against their mother. Cross knew that, and it warmed her heart, but that warmth only was lukewarm. The rage hadn't left the female's face. It became mores clear when she heard the word from Ken, "Mom".

"Cross!" she heard Ben's voice through the crowd. Blind as he was, he occasionally bumped into another. With his sense of smell, he was able to find her. "Are you alright?" he asked his beloved, giving a concerned lick because of the commotion. As her family surrounded her, Cross could see the female's anger starting to rise.

"Mayu!" Cross turned at the name. Who was Mayu? From within the crowd, Cross noticed a streak of black working its way through. When she saw the scarred eyes, she recognized the male as Bat. She had heard mention from Weed and Gin he had returned, with a mate…. and family.

No, it couldn't be… But she saw how Bat made it to her side, licking her and seeing if she was well. From behind bat, three puppies followed. Cross examined their appearance with her old eyes. There was a female who was the spitting image of Bat, a male with the appearance of a Saluki, and the smallest, a perfect mixture of the two breeds.

"Mommy what's wrong? Are you okay?" the little one asked his mother, noticing her weakened felt a grip upon her heart. The young pup was saying it to the female.

"No it–" Cross stammered. Her eyes met with the female's. Mustering her strength, the younger dog rose to meet the older. Cross wanted to say something, oh how she wanted to speak. But the words couldn't work themselves out.

Ben, Ken, George, Cross. The female, Mayu took a long look at them all. A sardonic grin crossed her muzzle. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" the statement was directed to Cross, and that's when she bolted. Immediately Cross followed. Behind the two females, their loved ones called out, but they ignored them or just didn't hear them in their states. The both of them swam through the sea of dogs. They had no destination, their minds telling them where to go.

Finally, they came to a stop. A secluded part of Ohu. Somehow it seemed perfect for what was coming next.

The young female, had her backed turned to Cross. Cross tried to speak first, but the words still hid from her.

"So you were alive all this time!" the female spat the question out like it was garbage in her still could only manage one word.

"I–"

"You just threw us away like _garbage_?"

That stung Cross. So many words went through her head. Only one sentence she could muster.

"Y-you've grown so big." The one before her wasn't a puppy, not anymore.

Mayu at last turned her head. Her expression nearly made Cross back away.

"Is that all you can say after eight years!" her eyes were like daggers.

Cross felt at a loss for a moment, but then she gathered the courage to speak once more. "I know how you must feel, you have every right to be angry. But understand, I did what I had to do. I had no choice." Cross attempted to reason.

"You had a choice!" Mayu briskly cut in. "You could have come back for us!"

"I was injured, Akakabuto killed everyone and-"

"SAVE IT!" Mayu cut once again. She didn't want to hear any excuses from the older dog. It was too forgone for that. "I know what this is about, we just weren't a perfect enough family for you."

Cross's eyes widened and her body stiffened. "That's not true!" she exclaimed with the utmost truth to her words. Truth that only she believed.

"Oh, it makes perfect sense." Mayu turned around fully. "Some male comes along and knocks you up, so you just dump off the unwanted garbage so you can run off, find a mate and have a perfect new family." Mayu's voice retained a neutral tone, neither happy, nor angry, but dead serious in delivery. With each word, she took a step, sending Cross backwards.

"You wanna know what happened to your son?" Mayu curtly asked.

Cross remembered, she had left a son as well. Hope sprang up inside her. Though at the same time, it fell as she noticed her daughter's tone.

"His name was Mao, and he's dead!" Cross gasped. Dread fully replaced her hope.

"I– I–" she repeated. Mayu wouldn't hear them once more, the string of excuses.

"You know, deep down, I think he always knew you were alive, hoping you would come and save us from hell." Mayu looked down, her paws digging into the soil. "But you never came, and I watched him die in agony, clinging to that hope."

Cross was no stranger to loss, particularly a loss pertaining to a child. Something fell, the ground started to dampen right near her daughter's paws. "Please, I'm sorry. I beg your forgiveness. Can't we start over?" Cross pleaded. "You have a family now, a mate, children." Cross brightened up at that word.

"NO!" Mayu decisively looked up. Now it was apparent, there were tears in her eyes. "Let's get one thing straight, you stay the hell away from my babies!" Mayu threatened. "I won't let you fill their heads with lies!"

Mayu glared directly into the eyes of the old dog. The dagger like glare hadn't left, nor would it ever.

"Please…my daughter."

"My name is Mayu, and I have no mother."

Mayu began to walk past, but right before, she turned, the tears flowing more freely than before. "And for all I care, you can go to hell, Cross."

With nothing more to say, Mau ran off before Cross could get another word in. Cross sat there frozen, stunned at the words before her. In her own eyes, tears began to form. Miney hadn't been the only daughter lost to her, not anymore.

XXXXX

Mayu ran for who knew how long. Just as before, she just ran with no destination in mind. She only stopped when her legs couldn't move anymore. When she stopped, she let it all out. All the tears, all the pain. Her sobs spread out across the land, echoing and resounding.

"Mayu?" Mayu stopped at the sound of the voice. A familiar black body met her eyes. "Bat." she sniffed. Trotting at Bat's heels, were their children. Wing and Mina kept silent, while Kuro spoke.

"Mommy? Why did you run away? How come you're crying? Did you hurt yourself?" the mixed pup innocently asked.

Mayu hiccuped back a sob. The tears came again, but this time, it wasn't from sadness. Mayu embraced her pups, holding them tightly to her. None of them bothered to squirm out of their mother's grasp.

"You four are all I need." Mayu believed that with all her heart.

The family sat there silent, even as the moon rose. Ohu had seemed so perfect. But then again, nothing was. Mayu found her life fit that perfectly.

XXXX

It felt like someone had rubbed shards of broken glass into her intestines, and left them there. Left them sticking in there, allowing them to twitch and rub on the wound, destroying any chances of scabs appearing. Stabbed by Akakabuto's claws once again. Hell, wasn't that right? It was a good comparison as anything.

She snorted, feeling a painful throb at the crown of her head and that mist-like, translucent pain that followed with invisible wounds. Seeping into every cut space like damn lemon juice, cutting and burning. But there were no physical wounds to lick. She could only let everything fester and bubble and burn. God, how she hated this. It was horrible. Just as if she'd had to let Ben go to battle again, and had to think of what had happened to George from when he'd returned after so long.

Cross closed her eyes tightly, trying to let the cooler air sooth her. It barely cooled the edges of her fur, but her insides still stung and burned. But there were no more tears. None at all. Crying once more was the most despicable option here. It seemed as if crying again would reduce what had just happened to a minor event, a tiny thing that could repel and shove away grief. Real grief couldn't just be fixed with some tears and patch slapped on here or there. It destroyed the need for tears. Tears would tell Cross that she didn't care. Didn't give a damn about what had just happened.

Males didn't cry.

Males didn't cry.

Males didn't have offspring come back to them and call them 'mother.'

She wasn't a male.

Cross swallowed down any chances she had of tears. Something was churning and twisting in her stomach. Hot anger and cold grief smashed against each other, spraying everywhere acidly. Burning her wounds open further. Cross didn't know towards whom they were directed any more.

She was still alone in the forest. Not in the place where she'd seen her… fleeing. Somewhere else. Somewhere else closer to the edges of Ohu, but not where anyone could find her soon. Cross still hadn't lost the knack of stepping lightly and covering her tracks. Being a soldier, retired now or not, had implanted that habit in her firmly.

Cross felt as if she was going to get her wounds twisted open further if _she_ was light stepper too.

There were too many similarities.

Far too many.

How?

Cross's insides felt shaky, but her body refused to reel or quiver. It had been taught to stay strong in the most nerve wrecking of situations. When you fought a bear, a second chance wasn't going to come along if you screwed up. Jump, dodge, bite and twist. Never let yourself get cut by those claws. Ever. Get cut, you keep running. Get cut and start crying, lose control; your running is over.

But this was no bear. And the situation seemed beyond determined to tell her that. All of her wounds seemed beyond determined to tell her that. She'd lost _them_ to a bear; she'd lost _them_ to Akakabuto. And now here _one_ had come back. Only one. Cross felt like her belly was about to tie itself in a knot with all of the imploding anger and grief she was feeling. Her puppies had been dead to her when she'd left them. Though she was conscious they were alive, physically alive, in truth, Akakabuto had torn their throats out the day her trust in humans and everything she'd loved had been ripped out from under her. They were no longer to be in her world; no longer to be warm wriggling things in her paws, no longer alive.

Cross had considered them to be in the spirit world.

She had no past behind being cut up by Akakabuto and brought to Ohu. None at all. It hurt too much to have a past. Hurt much more than any soldier's wounds. So she had none.

Cross found that all of the smells of the greenery and forest around her refused to enter her nose properly– they only came in distorted and warped. She could hear quite well, though. The yells and buzzing of the Ohu camp like a disturbed beehive was quite audible to her.

Cross felt herself building up a slow dread inside of her at facing them again. They would ask questions. They would mercilessly press on the subject; prying, poking, nipping, peering in. It was in their nature as a group to do so, their nature to pass the information down the grapevine. She could hardly expect otherwise. After all, how many times had she herself caught wind of rumors and tidbits by listening to conversations or following the line? How many times had there been no emotion in her for those whom the rumor was sprouting from or being pried from? Surely she couldn't expect them to do any different for her– it would be robbing the dry irony from the experience. No soldier could expect otherwise.

But Cross wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to have them asking questions about _her,_ how _she_ was connected to herself, why _she_ had sought out the fight. For the newer recruits, ones who weren't retirees from the original army or the platoons, the entire story of her abandonment of shattered human trust and her pups would have to come to light again. Cross didn't think she could have it picked to pieces so methodically and carelessly at the same time now. Not when it had resurfaced this way, god no. She wasn't ready for this.

As for telling others, as for telling Ken and George…!

Cross shuddered, feeling herself wince. That was the second worst thing there was to this besides having her story brought to the surface again. She didn't want anything circulating around the camp– particularly since _she_, since _Mayu_– Cross's heart jumped at the name– was going to be living in the camp. What if the story got back to her? What if she had to listen to what she assumed was one big load of tripe, one big excuse for leaving her to beginning of had become hell?

The only one Cross could think of that would offer understanding, help, was Ben. And chances were he himself would find it hard to deal with a piece of her past that had come back to bite her. Ken and George would be thrown into part of the same violent whirlpool she was in– Cross could not see her impulsive sons offering her any help, or even pity, for something she'd hidden from them for so long.

She was a cornered mouse who'd woken the cat, and there was nowhere to hide.

XXXX

"…so that was it, was it?"

Ben quietly looked at Cross. In the darkened spot under the bushes, only darkened blue and green sunlight coming through, everything seemed extra quiet. She could feel his aged and almost blinded eyes focusing on her. Fate and years had not been kind to his sight.

"Yes." Cross found she couldn't look at him. Instead, she focused on the ragged patch of light outside of the arched bushes. Everything seemed as quiet and still as the grave on the inside, here, but on the outside, rapid activity was flowing under the surface. She'd sought Ben out after she'd gotten under her emotions under control… for the moment. They were still there, still softly boiling and simmering, but a lurking threat nevertheless, not an immediate one. Cross hoped to keep them that way.

"I didn't… I didn't expect them to come back." Cross shut her eyes tightly, feeling the hard ground beneath her belly and ribs. "Hell, I didn't expect them to reappear, period! I thought I left them behind when I left behind my owner, when I picked up Akakabuto's scars. When everything just… just…"

"Went to pieces on you?" Ben asked.

A small, hollow grin appeared on Cross's face.

"Exactly."

As she heard some rustling noises outside, Cross and Ben froze, cocking their ears and listening in. Cross's eyes had snapped open at the noise. She'd avoided the group and the soldiers when she'd snuck back to here. It had been hard, but she'd managed it. Somehow.

She'd also managed to avoid Ken and George.

At that point, Ben read her mind. "…Ken and George aren't going to take this well," he said grimly.

"I know they're not." Cross felt the acidic wave in her belly gave a small flip. Suddenly, despite the influx of intense, new emotions that were present in her, she felt like a worn, creased and old dog or beaten carpet. "Neither of them take surprises well, and knowing those two, they'd keep up the fight they took up earlier. They'd continue it till Hell froze over, if they… she… allowed it." Cross paused. "They've got your temper, after all… just not the patience you had with it." She allowed herself a grim and stretched smile. It felt like she had bags under her eyes.

Ben had given a small 'huh' of amusement when Cross had brought the brothers' tempers up, but it had quickly faded into the silence here. This arched bush seemed to devour both warm sunlight and words inside of it. For a few moments, Cross and Ben were quiet, just taking in the sounds and soft rustling of the hundreds of leaves.

"Her name was Mayu, wasn't it?" Ben asked.

"Yes." Cross listened intently to the growing noises outside. "There was… yes, her name was Mayu."

Ben flicked his ears back as she abruptly cut off during her statement and changed the end.

"Wasn't there more than one?"

"The other's dead," Cross said bluntly.

For a moment, Ben's wide, paled eyes looked surprised, but then he quietly leaned forward and touched his nose to Cross's neck, behind the place her ears hung. Cross said nothing, allowing her eyelids to droop and eyes turn to the ground.

They stayed like that for a few quiet minutes, not saying anything to break the slightly shaking silence around them.

Then Cross sighed, letting the air slide out the sides of her mouth, forcing her muzzle to raise. Ben moved back, lifting his head.

"Ken and George aren't going to like this." Cross's voice wasn't optimistic.

"I know. But they'll get over it; they'll deal with it. I'll help you out in case their tempers rise and they start to do something stupid."

Cross grimaced. It would be just like the two to restart their fight with Mayu the instant something in the memory triggered them.

"Good idea."

Ben hauled himself to his feet, Cross watching him get up. She felt a small spark of nervousness. "You're going to go get them? Now?"

Ben paused in front of the exit from the bushes, light spots on his muzzle and forehead. "The sooner, the better. The longer the two don't know, the longer they have a chance to go after Mayu or Bat, and the bigger reaction they'll have. Ken and George may be some things, but restrained isn't one of them."

Cross felt her protest get stuck in her throat, bobbing there. "Right." she said. "Find Ken and George."

Ben gave her one last look before wriggling out of the arched bush's entrance and running off. Cross felt the protest slide up her throat and leak out of her mouth.

"Don't," she said.

Her small and quiet voice barely lingered in the air for a few seconds. Ben was already gone.

XXXX

"Mom! There you are!"

A surprised Ken barely managed to crawl through the bush entrance, refusing to stoop and shaking the entire thing. Several leaves fell on the ground. Behind him, a bit of white fur shoved against him.

"Move your ass, Ken!"

George head butted him, forcing his large brother to scramble through and barely avoid crashing into his mother. Cross had to recoil for a moment as Ken almost ran into her, but he managed to swerve to the left and ended up shaking the bush ever further. Leaves rained down.

"You idiot, you almost made me run over Mom!" Ken snapped at his younger brother.

George, sharp shoulders already in the bush, neatly pulled his scarred body after him and made a much more quiet and graceful entrance than his brother. He gave a rough flick of his tangled and fringy ears, ignoring his brother's comment, though his ears went back. Ken's flipped backwards and began to flatten against his head, lips going back very slightly.

"No fighting," Cross said flatly, sensing the all-too familiar air of a brotherly quarrel.

Both Ken and George turned their attention to their mother.

"Mom, where have you been? We were looking all over for you but we couldn't find you; we had to listen to dad to get here after that bitch attacked you–"

" 'That bitch' happens to be Mayu," Cross neatly correctly. "And I suggest you keep it that way."

A brief look of confusion at his mother's correction passed over Ken's face. George, on the other hand, didn't even bother to slow down.

"Mayu? Some old enemy from before?" he asked, leaning forward. The pink, smooth scars on his face moved with each of his words. "Old leftovers from Hougan?"

"No," Ken broke in before Cross could answer, "Not that. She called 'mom' her mother."

"A deluded leftover from Hougan, then." George responded. He began to get up. "That's where it ends. I need to have a _talk_ with her."

"You won't do any such thing," Cross said sharply, sitting up from her belly down position. Her youngest son froze, one paw closer to the bush exit. Sun played over it, highlighting the dirty and cleaner parts of his smooth fur.

"Look, mom–"

"Be quiet, Ken," Cross said, cutting her son off. She focused her eyes on George's impassive yet defiant face, her own black ones meeting his. Black on white versus black on white and scar tissue pink.

"As much as you want to fight, George, you're going to sit here and listen to me. Going up against Mayu is just going to get both of you hurt, seeing you're stubborn and violent in equal measures. You're also forgetting Bat," Mayu added. "If you three have a brawl, you'll be outnumbered, and it'll be a bloodbath."

"I'd jump in after his sorry ass," Ken said, shooting his brother a look. George's hackles bristled slightly.

"Enough, you two," Cross snapped. She had little to no patience today. Her emotions had been worn raw and frazzled into frayed strings, and the whole thing wasn't even over. This wasn't the time for her to have to keep stopping sibling quarrels– if she was going to tell them everything, then they had better not stop her once, or it would be hard for her to start again.

Both of the dogs looked at their mother in surprise at her unusually bad tempered response. They became quiet.

Cross sighed, feeling the tiredness pull her eyelids down.

"Look, you two, you need to remain quiet while I clear things up here. Interrupting is going to help nothing, and the next time it happens, I'm stopping," she threatened. Cross waited for a moment to see if either of them had an objection to her statement. There was none. Forcing herself to keep her head up, Cross continued.

"First of all, you two need to keep away from Mayu. Starting up any fights over what happened today– something that's part unlucky and part my fault, I admit– will just make unnecessary injuries. I don't expect Bat or Mayu to stay still and keep their temper if you go asking for a fight, particularly Mayu; and with pups along, they'd react far worse than usual. Got that?"

Ken silently nodded. George's piercing eyes gave Cross the signal to go on.

"Second of all," Cross continued, "Mayu was not deluded when she called me her mother."

Ken made a choking sound in the back of his throat. George's gaze grew colder.

"As much as it seems like a mere delusion, she was right to call me so– though I don't see why the hell she would, seeing I have never played the real role to her such as I tried to for both of you– and right to confront me over it. There is nothing else behind that conflict today," Cross said. "Though I would like to leave it at that, I think I owe both of you an explanation, seeing you jumped into the fight because of me."

"Does dad know this?" George interjected. Ken shot his brother a warning look, afraid of his mother's previous threat to stop talking if interrupted.

"Yes," Cross said, "Ben is well aware of this."

She didn't miss the small looks of surprises on either of their faces.

"And it's time both of you were, too."

Cross launched into her story.

Throughout the whole thing, she found herself keeping everything as simple as possible, with the details to a bare minimum. She mentioned the least amount of things as possible about her friends, about Sawada and his house, about her few hour 'mate.' She went through everything, appalled and disgusted as she found herself taking the almost nearly emotional tone that many soldiers used while telling their stories. The only thing she had to elaborate on was her pups. Her beautiful, abandoned pups. She almost considered cutting Mao… if that was what his name had been… out of the story, but something stabbed her in her chest when she even thought of the idea.

Cross tried to tell them a minimal while trying to make them understand why she'd left her little family behind. Half of her family had been docked, cut away, when Akakabuto had taken her friends and trust in humans from her. The shred left there had lost its radiance in the face of revenge. But it didn't mean it hadn't hurt to leave them. Hurt to leave them with the very one whose trust in them had been shattered. She wasn't heartless– revenge had just been the most important thing. The only thing keeping her motivated to remain inside her ripped up and bleeding body.

Cross almost pleaded with them in her words, but it bit it back. How to convince her sons she wasn't an emotionless and selfish broad, interested in only her own self? Leaving had been selfish– oh so very much– but it had been one of her only selfish acts after leaving her pups behind and tearing them from her heart and mind.

Cross ended her story at being picked up by Ohu recruits after passing out from blood loss. She only briefly mentioned Mao's apparent death, going past the subject as quickly as possible. It hurt to linger over it. Fortunately, Ken and George understood, not stopping her to milk her for details.

Then, after god knew how long, it was over.

Cross finished her story, not a single word left in her. Silence filled the bushes. But not for too long.

"Well?" Ken asked, slightly frustrated but trying to hide it, "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"I never thought I would need to." Cross said. "I never thought I would see them… her… again. I was happy to be here and watch you grow with your father; Mayu was a thing of the past."

"Not any longer," George said darkly, speaking exactly what had been in her mind. "What're they going to do? Did Mayu learn about you and track you down to get revenge for what happened? Did they come to Ohu because they heard about you?"

"I don't think so," Cross said. She smiled sadly. "Mayu hates me too much to even be within a foot of me. Normally, I think she would've left by now. But Bat and her pups are tethering her down this time. She's been made immobile."

George grunted.

Ken, who had settled into a slouching sitting position to keep from rubbing against the leaves, completely sat up, making the whole bush rattle.

"But what the hell is going to happen next?"

Cross couldn't answer.


	16. Chapter 16

Ohu wasn't how the pups imagined it. For Wing, it was the food. He had pictured a banquet laid out for him. A smorgasbord of prey that his belly awaited to be fed. So far? He had received no such meals. The young pup sulked. He was starting to believe that his father had tricked him using his one and only weakness: food.

For Mina it was the setting. She had imagined Ohu as a terrible place. A smelly, stinky, rotten place that her parents had forced her to go. Although when she had arrived, she found her fears and expectations didn't match up. It didn't seem as bad as she initially believed. She had imagined Ohu as a desolate wasteland full of sharp rocks and weeds. No life to be found anywhere. She was wrong on all counts. Still however, she wished there were more puppies to play with. Mostly there were adults.

Kuro didn't have an opinion either way. He simply obeyed his parents wishes, being the "good" boy of his siblings. But mostly he simply wanted to make his mother happy. Today he had noticed something. His mother wasn't happy. It had all started earlier today. A huge group of dogs had gathered earlier, practically the whole pack. Their father Bat had led them through the crowd only for Kuro and his siblings to see their mother kneeling down.

She looked hurt, upset. Kuro remembered her running away when he asked her what was wrong. Kuro wasn't hurt by it, it only worried him. Even more so when he found her crying. To Kuro it was all very confusing. This was the first time he had ever seen her cry. Then in another spontaneous display, she had embraced all of them.

Something wasn't right with their mother, even Wing and Mina could tell. And that was why the three of them went to spy on their parents. They had settled down for a rest in a secluded part of Ohu. Not too far, yet not too close. After today's little mishap, the family had decided to keep away from the main group. They didn't want to rile any tempers. A soft pile of leaves served as bedding for the puppies, puppies who currently weren't sleeping.

"Get your butt out of my face!" Wing complained.

"My butt isn't in your face!" Mina retorted.

"Guys, come on, don't fight!" Kuro pleaded.

It went on like this as they snuck through the bushes and foliage. Their parents had sniffed the area for any predators. The very fact their parents left them unattended showed they were safe. That and they were close by.

"I'm sorry I didn't know about Cross." they heard the voice of their father Bat.

The three pups kept still within the brush knowing full well their father's accurate hearing would pick them up no problem.

"I'm not blaming you Bat. You couldn't have known." Mayu's voice had softened since her earlier outbreak.

"What's Mommy talking about?" asked Mina.

"How should I know?" Wing snapped. "Just shut up!"

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"I'll do what I want!"

Kuro remained silent throughout the whole argument. He wanted to say something to keep his brother and sister silent but did nothing out of fear of alerting their parents. Apparently Mina and Wing got the idea when they noticed their father's ears twitch.

Bat stilled himself for a moment. He thought he could sense something but soon paid it no mind. "What should we tell the children?" came his question.

Mayu breathed out a scoff. "Nothing. That's how it's going to stay."

That news didn't seem to sit well with Bat. "But it's not like we can just avoid her, certainly they'll run into Cross and what then?"

Mayu appeared to consider that idea. Certainly it would be difficult, not that the puppies understood what was going on.

Bat tasted something upon his lips. It was another statement, one he was uncertain about. His mate still wasn't in the best of moods despite what her composure said.

"Despite everything, she's still their grandmother."

That was the breaking point for the saluki mother.

"Cross is not their grandmother! She'll never be their grandmother! Not as long as I'm here!" Mayu spat.

Grandmother? They had a grandmother? This was new to the pups. Their parents never talked about their family. The trio had only known their mother and father. Although they did know of their Uncle Mao. Their mother had spoken of him often enough, but not enough to really give them a clear idea of the long departed dog. But now a grandmother? This was certainly very new to them. The trio squirmed underneath the foliage with excitement at the news. More rather it was from hearing the new bit of juicy information than the fact itself. They really didn't know how else to react to a grandmother. Just what did a grandmother do anyway? All they had been told that a grandparent was a parent to their own parents.

Whatever thoughts raced through their tiny heads were cut off as their father's black paw pinned them to the ground. Bat had sensed their movements and heard their murmurs. Wing was the first to speak, looking up at his father with a sheepish grin.

"Hi Dad."

Bat lowered his sightless eyes. "Hello Wing, Mina...Kuro. Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

Wing began to stammer in his speech as he tried to think up an excuse.

"We were worried about Mommy." Kuro piped up. Wing breathed a sigh as his brother came up with a good excuse.

Mayu strode over to her children with reprimanding look. "You don't have to worry about me, young pup. Right now you three should be sleeping. You need rest." The mother was about to shepherd her children back to bed when Mina interrupted.

"Mommy? Do we have a Grandma?"

Mayu stopped. Her body became stiff.

"Yeah, we heard you and Dad talking." Wing chimed in. "Was it that old lady? Yeah! I bet it was! She looked just like mom."

Looks of realization crossed Mina and Kuro's face. A different expression appeared on Mayu's face. "That bitch is not your grandmother!"

All the pups yelped in fright at their mother's outburst. This was not something Mayu had intended. Angry as she was, she calmed herself down to a degree. "Look, that dog, Cross, I want you three to stay away from her, and the three males with her." The pups listened well to their mother's words. "Whatever she says, not matter how much she sound like she means it, it's all a lie. She doesn't care about you or me."

"But Mommy–?" Kuro piped.

"Look." Mayu interrupted her son. "All we need is each other, you three, me and your father, no one else."

Bat said nothing during this whole speech. But silently he didn't approve. Merely he hung his head with a shake.

"I think it's time we all got some sleep…..now." Mayu spoke with a command in her voice.

Bat and the pups didn't argue. There would be no way of doing so with the matriarch of the family. Per usual, Kuro trailed behind his siblings and father.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mommy?" the little pup asked turning his tiny head back.

Mayu responded by giving her son a soft push with her snout. "I'm fine baby, now go get your rest." her smile belied how she truly felt. However her smile and love towards her child was fine. Kuro at least was pleased with that.

XXX

Ken and George just sat there. Alone but together. By now all of Ohu was asleep save for them. Really, sleep would be hard considering what had transpired today. A sister– no, a half-sister. Frankly it wasn't something one learned every day. The Great Dane mix looked at his brother with a look of confusion.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Ken asked.

George laid his head down upon the grass. His body moved to a relaxed position. "Got nothing to say."

Ken sprang up at his younger siblings words. "Come on! Not even after what we've been told?"

George moved slightly. Certainly it would be foolish to think he wasn't affected by the news they had received. Yet he didn't seem to care.

"Don't you think we should talk to her?" Ken suggested.

George craned his head towards his brother. This time he said something. "I don't see the point."

"Well, she's our sister." Ken argued.

"Half-sister." George corrected.

"Whatever." Ken replied. "I mean, we should talk to her after what happened today."

George breathed a noise. "I don't think she would want to talk to us. I doubt we and Mom are the ones she wants to talk with."

His brother had a point. From what their mother had told them, Mayu wouldn't want to listen to anything they said. While George could just brush it aside, Ken had more trouble doing so. Secretly he had prided himself in being the oldest. Someone his siblings could look up to, his father's heir, if one willed. While all of those were partially exaggerations, or at least simply remaining by products of his puppy days, he did find it a bit discomforting knowing he wasn't his mother's eldest anymore. Well, at least he was still his father's eldest.

"Come on, you know you want to." Ken urged.

George once more said nothing, his disinterest in the subject clearly showing. Why was that? Ken wondered. Was it because of Miney's death? Was the act of accepting another sister too hard for him?

"You know this makes us uncles now." Ken suddenly said.

There was a brief departure in George's uncaring stance. He looked up with some form of emotion within his eyes.

"Well, that and Bat is our brother in law." Ken added.

That was also true. In all honesty, George had expected Ken to find a mate, while he himself…. He never held the interest in finding a mate or even siring...puppies. In all honesty he couldn't stomach the thought of puppies crawling all over him, tugging at his ears, yipping at him at all hours. Frankly, it made him shudder.

Yet somehow his emotional lock broke away. "We talk to her tomorrow, I and go with you. I don't want you doing anything stupid."

Ken's fur riled up. "Stupid? When have I done anything stupid?"

George chuckled and returned to his former position. He didn't say a word.

"What?" Ken urged. But he got no response from his brother, only another chuckle. Ken scoffed and sat down in his own position. "Shut up." he muttered.

XXXX

She wasn't how sure she could pretend to be sick any longer.

Curled up in the shadows of her den, trying to act as if she was getting some sleep, she found her belly and heart pounding wretchedly, and her eyes still snapped wide open. She tried to ignore the buzzing of the flies and the strong smell of meat that fermented in the den, that filled the entire entrance. It was tempting. So, so tempting to eat. But she couldn't. She had said her throat was hurting– god, why had she picked that stupid excuse, out of all the excuses– and dragging some of the prey further inside her den to eat would alert the guards that she was.

Setsu winced as she heard a pebble inside her den drop.

Trying to curl up tighter, she did her best not to look at the sunlight leaking from the entrance onto the newly deposited prey. The guard had messed up again– he'd left it in the sun instead of delivering it into the shadows. Even in her pretended sleep, Setsu couldn't help but snort slightly. Fantastic. More temptation to eat, and a prey out of reach.

As Setsu listened in, thinking that she heard a noise outside, she disregarded any of the plonking or buzzing noises in her den. There was no one inside it to share it with her, so there was no point in suspecting anything. The Grandmaster had made no point to find her another Recorder after

Zakura's accident several years earlier, and so there was distinct lack of repeated praises in the den, something Setsu disliked. She had never missed Zakura, or his repeated speech, but they were quite preferable to what the grandmaster told her now.

Setsu shuddered in revulsion. Speaking of the grandmaster…

She gave up on her sleeping act and huffily rolled over, staring up at her den's dark ceiling. With her belly up, she could feel the relatively cool air that was in the cave wash across the little fur on it. It cooled her flopped back ears and helped her get a hold of her thoughts. Setsu frowned angrily, her ears trying to pull back, but the den floor prevented her from doing so. Honestly, why was the grandmaster bothering to do this? There was no need for the stupid training duties anymore; she shouldn't have to go and parade her body and skills in front of her every two or three days.

Setsu blew out a breath, trying to disturb the cool air around her and make herself feel better. She was the Container, for hell's sake! Someone in such a privileged position should be able to control their schedule and what they wanted, whenever they wanted!

A flea bit her chest. Annoyed, Setsu scratched at it with one of her paws, managing to drive it away for the moment. After it was gone, she looked at the place it had been biting. Her chest fur was rather thick this year; she hadn't been shedding as well as usual. Fleas took advantage of this. But even the fleas weren't as persistent as the grandmaster and her guards.

Setsu sourly looked up at the ceiling again. No doubt the grandmaster would have a comment to make on her shedding difficulties. She could almost see the ancient, mangy old dog beckoning her to turn around or roll over in order to get a better look at the thicker furred spots; guards watching the whole thing with their stiff postures and amused eyes. It was humiliating to her station to have those lower level guards, grandmaster's or not, eying her while the grandmaster went through her inspection. She was fine, thank you very much, and not to mention highly in shape and quite beautiful for someone who was being observed like a pup under Maria or Julia's detention. But then again, if her pretense of being sick worked, then she wouldn't have to be looked over.

Setsu sniffed angrily. After all, in addition to her other qualities, she was healthy. This whole throat-hurting business was nothing more than a charade so she could have an excuse to miss the grandmaster's inspection, that was all! Who cared that had had a spot of… stomach hurting after one of their training sessions, or had… _hallucinated_ slightly. That… none of that mattered in the long run! She shouldn't have to deal with this, what with her being the Container and all! A high title, one that guaranteed respect, that put her above mangy guards and hunters like the lots of Mako and the up-and-growing brats under Julia's– or was it Maria's?– control. It symbolized… symbolized…

Setsu rolled over again, not wanting to look at the ceiling anymore. Well, who cared what it symbolized? It and its promotion– which was something the grandmaster had neglected to impose upon her; yet another thing the old relic had held back from her– were quite important. They guaranteed her places in the Clan, places only others could dream of.

Rolling over and feigning sleep once again as she heard an approaching guard, Setsu still just wasn't sure what those places were.

XXXX

Weed found that he just couldn't get comfortable. Sighing, he lay his head down in the grass, trying to relax. But the thoughts in his head refused to let him do so.

Watching the sunlight fall through the trees from the tall and soft patch of green grass Weed was laying in, flowers blooming from nearly every crack and crevice and color ruling the world, it was hard to believe that anyone could be in strife or anger. Weed tilted his head, watching a flower petal drift down from a nearby tree. Everyone praised the spring. Whether it was Jerome looking up at the flowering trees or fields, Sasuke accidentally sniffing up some pollen or a bee, or a protesting GB getting thrown around in them by an energetic Kagetora, spring seemed to be endlessly commented by all, though not necessarily in words. More importantly, everyone was always happy.

Almost.

Unable to feel the same joy and energy at watching the flowers before, Weed scratched his nose before nuzzling it into some grass. How had things turned this way? One minute everyone was content to roughhouse and admire spring; the other, a family was ready to kill half of themselves. Since that was what they were– a family.

Frustrated, Weed put his paws his nose, beginning to feel hopeless. How was he going to keep Ohu happy and solve this problem when making one side of the issue happy would guarantee loathing and anger from the other? Well, if the loathing and anger was directed towards him, then there would be less of a problem, but to other _family members_? How was _that _going to work out?

"Thinking on something?"

"Huh?" Weed snapped his head around. Standing behind him in the flowers and grass was Gin.

"Oh, dad! I didn't… I didn't see you there," Weed said weakly, still lying in the patch of grass. Gin calmly took a few steps forward, picking his way through the flowers and grass. He sat down next to Weed, silver fur dimly shining next to the pink and white flowers.

"I didn't think you did. I had to wait a while before you finally noticed."

Weed's fur ruffled with embarrassment.

"Sorry, dad, I should've been paying more attention. I didn't… I didn't mean to leave you sitting there without saying anything for so long–"

Disregarding his son's lengthy apology, Gin faced forward, stoically watching the swaying branches in bloom and the soft sunlight play over them.

"There's no need for apologies. You were in the middle of thinking of something; I didn't want to interrupt you."

Looking away from his father sheepishly and down at his own front paws, Weed shuffled them uncomfortably. "Well, about that… about what I was thinking of… I…"

"Let me guess: you're trying to avert a family crisis."

Startled, Weed looked up at his father's quiet statement, only to see the older bearhound looking down at him with silent amusement in his eyes. It was the only signal he needed.

"How am I going to fix this?" he asked helplessly, words spilling from his mouth. "Everything… everything seems so _jumbled._ I mean," he said, turning to look in the direction Gin had before, "since I'm the new leader now, I know I should be learning to solve these problems on my own– without advice from you or Jerome– but this one just seems like one I can't do anything to fix by myself. I can't force them to forgive each other, or get back together, or at least stop fuming…"

Weed clawed at the grass, looking down. "I feel so _helpless._"

Gin watched his son silently, listening to his words. He waited for a moment after he was done, watching him stare at the grass.

"Weed," he spoke, making his son look up, "You can hardly expect the family to come back together the instant they see each other. There is no fondness for being abandoned," he said gently but firmly.

"But Cross _didn't_ abandon them," Weed said incredulously. "She had to leave!"

"Do you think they know the same?" Gin said.

"Yes," Weed said fiercely. Gin's eyebrows rose and ears flicked to the side at the sound of the intensity in his son's voice.

"You think that they wouldn't have a single thought about the chance of being abandoned after they were left? After they had to fend on their own?"

Weed hesitated slightly, ears flattening to the side in indecision. "Well… I mean, they might've had a thought or two… but how could they ever believe their mother– or family– abandoned them? I didn't think you abandoned me and mom," he added, tilting his head and looking up at his father.

"I'm sure you didn't," Gin chuckled, putting a paw on Weed's forehead. His playful demeanor faded as he removed his paw from his son's head. "But trust can easily be broken, especially by time and those thoughts."

"Mom was alone for a _long_ time, and she never doubted anything," Weed said quietly.

"I don't doubt that, either," Gin said, face becoming old for a moment, ears turning to the back. "But your mother was different. For a clingy pup, being left alone for a few hours is abandonment. A few days is incomprehensible."

Weed turned his face away from his father for a moment, looking down at a dip in the hill, watching the springy flowers and limbs and the insects that fluttered from one to another. Through his eyes, he had never seen so many shades of grey, black, and white in one place, or combined in so many ways. They bounced happily at the slightest breeze, sweet scents mixing, content with everything.

"But if they hate each other," he said, "then how are they ever going to be a family again?"

Gin turned in the same direction as his son, observing the bugs that flitted from plant to plant and the pleasant buzzing that the fat striped bumblebees made.

"These flowers will die in the winter," he said. "How are other flowers ever going to grow again?"

Weed blinked. He turned his eyes towards his father. "Well, that's easy. They're just going to wait for spring."

Gin watched a bird spiral through the small patches of sky that the flowers left revealed, the sky a bright blue.

"Then there's your answer. The family is simply in the middle of their winter." he said simply.

Weed stared at his father's face as he watched the flower petals fall.

"Once their winter ends and spring comes, they can grow, and become a family again." He looked at Weed. "They always do."

Gin turned and left, Weed watching his father the whole way. He kept following him until the flowers and trees swallowed up the silvery fur, completely obscuring him from view.

When he turned his head back to look at the flowers, an extra energetic wind took hold of them, blowing multiple patches of tumbling petals into the air.

One landed on Weed's nose, drooping over it.

XXXX

Ken was beginning to regret his decision.

"George?" he asked. "You there?"

"To your left, dumbass," someone breathed. Ken felt his fur bristle for a moment as his younger brother's voice seemed to come from nowhere. Sharply looking to his side, he saw George quietly come up from behind him, walking past him. Ken watched him go.

"Hell, George, don't do that. It always surprises me when you come out of nowhere without saying anything."

George paused for a moment, looking back. "Well? Are you going to move? Or stay standing there all day?"

Ken blinked before running after his brother. "Hey, keep your fur on, I'm coming," he said.

Both of the brothers walked between the trees, stepping through flower patches and weeds. Ken uneasily looked around, trying to smell the air. The flowers and their pollen clogged his nose, successfully hiding any nearby scents.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for her to come back and then just go talk to her straight out instead of trying to find her while she's out here?"

"Are you an idiot, Ken?" George snorted. "She'd more than likely jump us later if we so much as got within an inch of her brats while we were looking for her. We have to get to her before she comes back to camp."

George sniffed the air, the same as Ken had. As a result, he successfully clogged his nose with the smell of flowers in the exact same way. Trying to ignore their overpowering smell and abundance, George focused on finding the familiar smell of another dog, or of recently killed prey. He highly doubted the female– or 'Mayu'– would have caught something this early in the hunting trip, but those kind of things were unpredictable.

Ken's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?"

George looked at his brother, who was staring off into the trees and bushes, ears upright. "Hear what?" He mentally cursed his floppy ears, both a hindrance in battle and listening.

"There's something coming through the bushes up ahead."

George looked forward, lifting his ears the best he could and standing in silence. For a moment, he heard nothing, just the sounds of Ken's heartbeat and a few twittering birds. But then he became aware of the crunching sound up ahead, one that was getting louder with every minute.

"Do you think she heard us–?"

"Ssh, shut-up!" George snapped at Ken. He turned his head backs towards the crunching sounds, straining to hear them again. Silence. George tried to listen harder. Had they been merely hearing a squirrel? But no, then there came a soft, slow crunch, as if someone was taking a cautious step. A pause. Then another.

George swore under his breath as he realized what was happening. Whoever it was was trying to get their scents from the wind before they came any closer. The breeze wasn't blowing from behind them, so Mayu hadn't smelled them yet, but George doubted she would be any happier if she had to wait till she smelled them nearby before knowing they were there.

"Come on, Ken," he said, plunging into the bushes. His brother balked for only a moment.

"George–"

George no longer heard the footsteps or focused on the flower's smell. He went straight between two large bushes, making them rustle conspicuously, and didn't bother in trying to keep quiet. He could hear his older brother following behind him, swearing under his breath.

He could hear other footsteps now, Ken moving by plants behind him, and maybe– some from ahead.

George could sense the plants beginning to separate, more air coming in from in front of him. There was more light from up ahead. He barely got to see the tufts of flowers growing out of the dirty clearing, like the hide of a mangy mutt, when he saw the flash of stringy white in the bushes.

George, Ken, and Mayu stepped out into the clearing.

The instant they made eye contact, the scent of aggression filled the air.

Ken could see she hadn't caught anything– there was no blood on her jaws, or feathers clinging to her ears or neck. But her fur had began to bristle as none of them blinked or backed off. Ken felt his own fur start to stand on end as none of them broke the eye contact, as none of them blinked. He couldn't force himself to blink or look away from the black, dark, dark, brown eyes in front of him. Sheer stubbornness from past confrontations wouldn't let him do it. He almost began to growl as Mayu's lips slowly pulled back, revealing the very edges of her fangs. Next to him, he could feel George getting ready to do the same. It reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing like a slap in the face.

"George, stop it," he said, forcing his fur down, and making his ears lean forward in a less aggressive position. He tore away eye contact from Mayu, blinking several times and looking at his brother. He could feel some of the aggression in the air deflate, and sensed some surprise from her at his backing down. George had also began to stiffen and bristle slightly, but at his brother's reminder, he slowly lowered his tail from its stiff stance and stopped twitching his lips. That was that.

"…what the hell do you want?" Mayu's voice was harsh, a raw chord of warning in it. But it wasn't as close to breaking out in snarl as Ken thought it would be.

"We want to talk to you," Ken said. "That's it."

He felt some relief as Mayu's lips lowered, and her fur stopped bristling. Slightly. But she wasn't out of her hostile state yet.

"You and who?" she asked. Her eyes were stilled narrowed, and she hung back to her part of the clearing, refusing to come closer to them. George and Ken made no attempt to close the gap, being quite satisfied with space between them and their… half sister.

It suddenly occurred to George that, in all likeliness, she– Mayu, whatever her name was– didn't know who they were. Just that they were pups of Cross, and two dogs she'd have liked to beat the shit out of. At this point, he half shared her sentiments. He'd only come to make sure Ken did nothing stupid, that was all.

"Ken and George," George replied, answering before his brother could get something out of his mouth. "He's Ken."

Remembering the short, rather uneventful hunting trip a few days ago with Bink the blabbermouth– and the brawl in the middle of camp– George decided that there was no need for formal introduction.

Mayu apparently thought the same. She moved her eyes from one brother to the other, observing them as if they were rogues of some kind, trying to steal some prey from her.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" Her question sounded harsher and more guarded than her previous one, and really didn't have the air of a question at all. She knew exactly what they wanted to talk about.

"Well," Ken said, answering and slipping himself into the conversation before his brother could say something else, "we wanted to talk about a few days ago."

The fight. George could've bitten his brother for the absolute awkwardness he was giving off. But neither Ken nor he had ever had any patience for tact, and he had to admit it.

Mayu's face darkened. "About the fight?"

"No, about Cross _and_ the fight." Ken boldly said.

Mayu's face soured. "I won't be talking about _her_, and that's it."

She loaded the word '_her_' down with venom, spitting out the word as it poisoned her mouth. But far worse was '_her_' actual name, and she had no intention of using it, even if she had just heard it.

Ken flicked back his ears for a second, frustration already beginning to grow. "Look, we know why the fight happened, and we were all pretty pissed off. That's all that started it, and that's all there is to it. But we're trying to make up for it. Cross, George, and I want to apologize."

Unfortunately for Ken, his blunt apology was rendered null the instant the first name had passed through Mayu's ears.

"If this is an apology coming from her, I don't accept it," she responded coldly. George felt anger making his fur prickle. He wasn't the only one.

"It wasn't her fault that this happened," Ken snapped, losing some composure, "it–"

She cut him off. "If you were going to just come and make excuses for her, you should've just stayed back in the Ohu camp. I've heard enough from her mouth already, there doesn't need to be any from yours." Mayu's voice lowered in intensity, not burning as much as before.

"You apologized for all three of you. I see what you're trying to do. Hell, I have nothing against you or your brother. You had nothing to do with it. Consider more than half of your apology accepted. But the last bit that comes from Cross– whether from her or from you FOR her– is the one I can't take."

Mayu turned around, beginning to walk away. George watched her with partially laid back ears, listening to Ken trying to pull out another genius retort. Just as he was about to say something, George stomped on his foot. His voice trailed off to quiet but violent swears.

Mayu paused, one paw positioned next to the bush she was about to walk behind. Neither George nor Ken could see her face. "Since you've already done so," she said, an odd tone to her voice, "I guess I might as well apologize for the fight… with both of _you_."

Mayu quietly walked off into the bushes.

After a few moments, when George could no longer hear the Saluki's disappearing footsteps, he pulled his foot off of the top of Ken's. His brother immediately turned on him, irate.

"What the hell was that for?"

George didn't answer him. Instead, he was watching the bushes were Mayu had vanished off into. He snorted. Ken began growling. "What's so funny? That entire attempt at apologizing went to total hell, and you stomped on my foot. I should bite you for that, you son of a–"

"I'm not laughing at you, bastard," George snapped at him. "In fact, I'm not laughing at all. It's just not every day you meet such a big hypocrite."

Ken's nonexistent eyebrows rose. "Hypocrite?"

"Tell me," George said darkly, voice lined with sarcasm as he still looked in the direction Mayu had taken off in, "do you think there's a _single_ other dog in the Ohu army who ran away when they felt betrayed by something?"

XXX

Wing was bored. No, that was an understatement. He was super bored. Ohu had turned out to be a bust. His complaints about the lack of food did not go unheard. It had taken his parents warnings for him to hush up to silence him. But they didn't seem to apply with his siblings. Although in all honesty, he had found Mina and Kuro to be boring as well. They had simply wanted to play the same old games. Although Wing didn't mind so long as he was first that is. But he wanted something new. He wouldn't put his paw on it, but he just wanted a change.

So it was here he decided to stray away from his younger sister and brother.

Besides, Wing reasoned that there were plenty of dogs in Ohu who wouldn't allow any harm to befall a sweet, adorable puppy such as himself. Of course those were words he would describe himself as.

It wasn't that Mina or Kuro were not any fun, Wing just played with them all the time. He didn't really have a choice seeing as they were the only pups he had known since birth. Besides the promise of an abundance of food, Wing had hoped Ohu would have puppies his age to play with. So far he had found none.

But that wouldn't spoil his fun.

Wing let out a growl as he pounced on a stray leaf. The green plant limb was tossed in the air by the rambunctious pup. Wing would toss it only to catch it when it fell. And by catch, he would bite and toss it around some more.

"Heh not so tough now are ya?" Wing shouted to the pretend enemy. The ebony furred pup snatched up the leaf again and tossed it with all his might. His little paws kicked it along causing it to float and stick to his body.

Wing rolled about as he attempted to deleaf himself (if deleaf counted as a full on word). The young pup was so lost in his playtime that he didn't notice he bumped into something. Or rather someone.

"Hey what's the big idea?" Wing irritably asked, slightly irked that his playtime had been disrupted.

Wing jolted up only to find him face to face with someone he didn't expect. Standing before him was another puppy. Right away Wing could tell it was a male pup. The pup was a mixed breed, a Great Pyrenees Akita Inu to be precise. His fur was yellow from head to his paws, that is save for his ears which were brown. The pup looked about ready to deliver his own retort to Wing's complaint, but he looked surprised just as well.

The two boys sniffed the air for a moment, looking at each other curiously, tilting their heads from side to side. They even sniffed their butts for a moment but stopped when they noticed each other doing it.

"Wow! I didn't think there was anyone else my own age." The mixed pup exclaimed.

Wing formed a slight grin upon his face. "Yeah me neither, I thought my brother and sister were the only others."

"You got a brother and sister?" the pup asked.

"Yeah but they're kind of wimps, especially my sister. Sometimes she's just a crybaby, and don't get me started on my brother." Wing reconsidered for a moment. "But they're okay I guess."

The pup found common ground with Wing's words. "My brother is alright, but my sisters are so annoying."

"You have two sisters! Man I feel sorry for you." Wing spoke sympathetically.

This only proved to provoke a laugh from the mixed pup. A laugh that Wing joined in as well. Suddenly Wing felt himself forgetting about his earlier feelings of boredom. Today h something new. "So what's your name kid?" Wing asked.

"My name's Kin." The pup introduced himself.

"I'm Wing." Wing greeted likewise.

The two boys wagged their tails in symmetry, their grins spreading wide across their faces. "Hey ya wanna play with me?" Wing asked.

Kin seemed slightly surprised by the question but responded with and "Sure! What are we playing?"

Wing turned his attention back to the leaf. "Well I was pretending this leaf was a bear or something." A smirk appeared upon Wing's face. "And I just had it pinned!" Wing pounced upon it resuming his play. Soon Kin joined in the fun as he attempted to wrestle with the "bear". The two pups pounced around each other trying to attack their imaginary enemy. Their laughter mingled with each other as the two boys had the time of their lives. Apparently Wing wasn't the only one who wished for a friend outside his siblings. This Kin seemed to share the same feelings as his new found friend.

The two of them soon collapsed upon the ground, their little bellies heaving up and down as they breathed.

"Wow you're a lot of fun Wing." Kin complimented.

Wing caught a breath. "Yeah you too."

"You're new here aren't you?" Kin asked suddenly coming to that conclusion, or rather just speaking it now. "I haven't seen you around."

"Yeah my family and I just moved here, my dad used to live here but then he left." Wing explained.

Kin tried to think of anyone who had left Ohu but he couldn't find a match. "I was born here, my parents are soldiers...well my dad is, my mom's dad was a soldier."

"My dad was a soldier too!" Wing piped up. "Man we got a lot in common."

Both he and Wing rose to their feet. Indeed they did. They both had siblings whom they were stuck playing with, they both were energetic, and so far they seemed to have gotten along well enough.

Kin was about to say something when he heard a female voice call to him. "Kin!" Kin looked up to see a brown furred Akita Inu striding up to him.

"Oh...hi Mom." Kin looked a little sheepish as the female approached.

The female gave her son a rather stern look. "There you are young man! I was looking all over for you."

"Mom I was playing with my new friend." Kin whined.

For a moment, the female looked confused. "Friend?" she muttered and then noticing Wing's presence. "Why hello there little one." Reika grinned at the small puppy.

Wing could already sense a warm feeling emanating from the female. It was a little different than his own mother. Something about it just seemed kinder. Not that he was trying to put down his mother in any way, this dog seemed more pleasant.

"Um hi lady." Wing blurted out.

Reika chuckled at that. "Please call me Ms. Reika."

Wing normally wasn't one for manners, but he was in the presence of his newfound friends mother, so he at least wanted to show some class. "O-okay." he stuttered. If his mother was around he wasn't sure how he would act in regards to manners.

"His name is Wing Mom, he's new here." said Kin.

Reika had noticed Wing wasn't anyone she knew. There were not a lot of pups in Ohu. However what stood out to her was the black fur and the Saluki features. Thinking back she remembered something her mate Hiro had heard from the leader. Hadn't Bat returned with a mate and family? Furthermore that mate was a saluki but not just an everyday saluki, someone related to one of the older Ohu soldier.

"Oh you must be Cross's-." Reika trailed off before stopping herself. That and noticing the pup's bewildered expression. "Uh well in any case I hope your family enjoys it here."

Wing noticed a slight hesitation in the adult's eyes. The way she looked at him implied an uncomfortable secret within. Although Wing didn't really pay it much mind to be honest. He particularly didn't care when Kin opened his mouth.

"Hey mom? Can Wing stay for dinner?" Kin asked.

Dinner? Wing's little tail wagged at that bit of news. Slowly at first, but soon it went into full on thumping against the ground. "What kind of dinner? Bird? Squirrel? Rabbit?" Wing asked with excitement as his eyes went wide, practically bugging out of his head. Reika and Kin looked on at this with odd looks delivered toward the young puppy.

"Well...I'm certain it would be okay...if you had your parents permission that is." said Reika.

Of course that was the case. Wing silently cursed under his breath. Asking his parents just had to be the only way he could enjoy the succulent meat. He wasn't sure how his mother would answer, maybe his father would allow him? The only way to find out would be to ask.

"Wing!"

Wing winced at the voice behind him. Turning his head, he saw the approaching black shape of his father Bat. The young pup lowered his head as he faced his parent.

"H-hi dad." Wing meekly answered.

Bat lowered his blind gaze towards his son. "Don't "hi dad" me." Bat chided. "You knew very well not to stray from your brother and sister."

A gulp slid down his throat. To be honest, he had very well known not to stray away from his siblings. A fact that he had explicitly ignored.

"Uh...I forgot?" he said the excuse like a question, hoping his father would accept the excuse.

"Nice try. But you're coming home." Bat sternly said.

Wing's face fell into a pout. It wasn't just the promise of food that was making him hesitant. "But dad! I made a new friend!"

A familiar scent wafted past Bat's nose. It was that of a female, one he had met once before, but never fully acquainted with. Bat smelt something else, a smaller younger scent. At the female's legs was a puppy.

"Reika right? You're the mate of Hiro the ball snatcher?" Bat spoke his fellow Ohu soldiers full title. The pair hadn't been officially counted as friends due to their distance from each other. Either by personal choice her fate never bringing them together.

Reika nodded although she knew Bat would not be able to see her. Yet he seemed to know she nodded. In all honesty, she felt nervous being around a former soldier of Hougan. The other two, what were their names? Buruge and Kite, had sworn loyalty to Ohu, but Reika didn't want to take any chances at comfortably around them. Well in any case, she knew Hiro would protect her and their family.

"And you had pups." Bat further asked.

"Y-yes, this is my son Kin." Reika answered.

Bat lowered his head sniffing in the Kin's direction. Just like his mother, Kin felt a tad nervous being around the blind dog. Yet the pup kept up a brave front. Bat could sense that. It made him grin as he felt reminded of Wing. "So you boys are friends now?" Wing asked to both pups.

"Yes sir!" Both boys yipped.

Bat looked towards them then to Reika. Bat said nothing, only going back and forth staring at the pups and then to Reika. The grin shrank into a smirk. "Perhaps our families should meet together at some point?"

Reika blinked in surprise at the proposition. Wing and Kin looked hopefully up to her. "Well...I don't see...why not."

"YAY!" Wing and Kin happily cried.

Bat chuckled lightheartedly at the two youngsters. "We should discuss this with our respective mates first. Your husband and I haven't had the pleasure of talking civilly yet."

For a moment, Reika felt her nervousness subside. "Of course. I would love to meet your mate."

Bat chuckled once again, "I'm certain you ladies would have a lot to talk about, but for now my son and I need to have a little talk."

Wing gulped a second time when he heard that. He knew very well what the talk would entail. Reika ushered Kin to her side, she had her own talk to give her own child.

As both boys held their heads low, Kin turned his head around. "See you around Wing!" he called with happiness despite the poor situation he was in. Wing turned his head to and very well matched Kin's expression. Both boys were more alike then they realized.

Although he was not too happy with his child, Bat felt some degree of pleasure that his son found a friend. He wanted the best for his children. Initially he had thought Ohu would be the place, then the family problems sprang up. That is if Mayu would consider Cross and her son's as family. The answer he assumed was "no". Yet Wing's new budding friendship showed a slight silver lining around the dark clouds that had covered their family.

Bat's grin spread into a smile. Then it lowered once he brought Wing back and gave him quite an earful.

XXX

At this point, Mina was questioning whether had this had been a good idea or not.

"Mom," she asked, trying to put the words out as carefully as possible as she hopped over a large clump of grass, "are… are you sure I'm old enough to do this?"

From up ahead, her mother turned head around and shot her an odd look, ears flicking back for a second. "Of course you are. Why wouldn't you be?"

Mina felt the hint of a scald in her mother's gaze. She desperately tried to tread water and move the conversation elsewhere. "I dunno… I just… just remembered Dad wanted us to stick together. You're sure I'm not going to get trouble for it…?"

"Not at all," Mayu replied promptly. "I've already told your father we're practicing today, so he shouldn't chew you out over it."

"He chewed Wing out."

"Wing was wandering around without permission."

Mina swallowed, trying to keep eye contact with her mother while watching where she was going. "Right. And I have permission."

"Exactly, Mina." Mayu shifted aside a patch of grass with her foot, walking farther into the forest before turning and sitting down. "You're the proper age to learn how to hunt, and we should start here."

Mina stopped in front of her mother, watching her. "What am I going to hunt? Rabbits?"

Her mother gave her another look, one that made Mina want to take her words back. "No, rabbits are too fast for you."

_Stupid, stupid thing to say!_ Mina said to herself. She had to keep her fur from fluffing up with embarrassment. _Think before you talk to mom!_

"Right," Mina said, struggling to raise herself in her mother's eyes again, "so we'll be going after something smaller like mice or shrews." She held her breath, waiting to see if she'd guessed correctly.

"Right," Mayu said, sounding pleased. Mina felt herself relaxing. _Whew!_ "Very good, Mina."

Mayu suddenly raised her head, sniffing at a small breeze. Mina looked up, copying the same motion as her mother. The sun was filtering through the tops of the trees, leaving brightening splatters everywhere. The small breeze was making some of the flowers lift up into the wind, rolling over their petals and plucking dandelions bald. Mina blinked, shaking her head as a few petals hit her in the face and tangled in her ears. After pawing them out, she quickly looked up at her mother to make sure she hadn't saw that. She needn't have worried. Mayu was still sniffing the breeze, focused entirely on whatever she was smelling.

Mina snuck a side look at her. In the light that was coming down from above, her mother's white stringy ears and long fur seemed to glow, giving her a bright white outline. The way she was posed, head up, purposefully sniffing at the air in search of something, confident in what she was doing, made her look even larger than life than she usually did whenever she and Mina were alone. From right here, Mina felt incredibly small.

She tried to quietly pull herself up– try and make herself feel bigger– but it was no use. She stared at up her mother, settling back down and choosing to feel dwarfed. Why did she feel like everything she did was just as small as she felt in her mother's eyes? It was almost like she was from a different brood than Kuro and Wing, who seemed to get compliments out of her much easier.

A quick little wind suddenly decided to blow dandelion fluff into Mina's face. The tickly little floating tufts brushed against her nose, making it itch. Accidentally snorting one up, Mina sneezed, her whole body shaking from the effort. Mayu finally looked down, done searching the air.

"This way, Mina," she said, turning and walking towards where the wind was blowing, long legs lifting her over a bush. Mina, sniffing at her still itchy nose, hastily followed her mother further into the forest.

They continued to walk– and walk– till Mina felt like they were just going in some kind of endless circle. The trees blended into one and other, all patches of flowers looking the same, the entire place united in the ever-going loop through the always falling blossoms from the trees. Finally, after a few uncomfortable small thoughts in Mina's head began to suggest that maybe, just maybe, her mother was lost, they came to stop.

"Here we are," Mayu said, sitting down. Mina gladly plopped down to next her, panting.

"We're here," Mina said, relieved, "but where's _here?_"

The small, bush lined clearing that they had come to didn't seem any different from all the others they'd passed by on the way here. Sunlight fell on half of it, trees slumping over the other half, and there were less blossoms here than in the rest of the forest. A warm, pleasant glow came from the bare heated dirt in the clearing.

"_Here,_" Mayu said, "is where you're going to learn how to hunt." Mayu leaned forward, sniffing the air, and after a brief pause, Mina realized her mother was expecting her to do the same thing. Quickly leaning forward, she sniffed the air. The smell of blossoms still permeated the air, strong and sweet, but there was another faint smell under it and the aroma of heated dirt and leaves. Fur and meat. Prey.

Mina tried to pull her thoughts together, remember where she'd smelled this smell, but it seemed to fall apart just as she figured out what it was. Mayu lowered her head.

"Shrews and mice; maybe a little stray piglet. Do you know why they come here?"

Another question. Feeling her mother's eyes on her, Mina desperately looked around the clearing, trying to see what could be bringing the invisible prey here. There was no water, no holes in the ground that they could hide in– what else could they be here for? Did they eat something?

"They… come here to eat something?" Mina forced out. Mayu gave a tiny nod.

"Yes, Mina. What do they come to eat?"

_Errr…_

Looking around the clearing again, Mina tried to find whatever her mother was seeing. There was grass, grass and nuts in the trees, and maybe a worm or two under ground, but those couldn't be it. Nothing clicked about them, and Mina thought that if she answered with them, her mother would give her the same look she had when she'd thought they were going after rabbits. What was she missing?

"They eat…" Mina started out, sensing her mother's growing impatience, "they eat…"

She looked over the ground. Leaves, twigs, some bright little balls of something, grass– _little balls?_

"Berries!" Mina burst out, "they eat berries!"

She felt an immense wave of relief as her mother smiled, lowering her ears.

"Exactly."

An unfamiliar look of cunning and determination crossed her mother's face, suddenly reminding Mina of the coyotes which had tormented the rabbits back at their old home. Mayu leaned forward.

"You've played with prey bodies long enough with Wing and Kuro. Now it's time for the real thing. First, I'll help you find one…"

XXXX

George gnawed on what was left of the pheasant's leg, slowly grinding the bone in half. He held its stiffening claws under one paw and chewed on the upper middle, focusing on splintering it in one place. It felt calm, to be laying here and finishing off his meal without Ken yelling in ear. He had apparently had enough of George for the day, and had decided to go hang around with Kagetora for the remainder of the afternoon.

George continued to bite down on the pheasant leg, deciding to go bury the bones elsewhere for later gnawing or for the worms to have. Near the fresh prey pile and the lazy conversations and sunning taking place, it was almost too easy to decide to bury the reminder of his prey for later. Even though he'd gotten over his harsh years as a rogue, he still felt it hard to just throw out bones or food. It had taken long enough to get rid of the impulse to scavenge everything possible and keep his prey close to him at all times, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to throw prey out.

Something small and black bumbled over through the crowd, holding something in its mouth. George ignored it until it came closer, hesitating around the fresh prey pile, a limp shrew's body hanging from its mouth. Finally, it came closer, piping up.

"Hello," it said, shyly dropping the shrew at its feet, "is this… is this where all the fresh prey goes?"

For a moment, George didn't think it was talking to him until he felt its dark eyes fix his face. He looked up from his pheasant leg at the little black pup.

"Yeah. What, are you switching out the shrew you got for something else? Don't like it?"

"No, no," the little dog said, quickly straightening itself out, "I want to add my shrew to it. I caught it. By myself," it added proudly. George noticed all of the leaves sticking to its fur and scratched up nose.

It wasn't one of Reika's brats.

George felt his fur bristle and blood spike through his body for a moment, barely restraining himself from leaping up. No. No, he couldn't be running into one of them, not so soon after the argument–

"Why aren't you eating your first catch? You scratched the hell out of your nose to get it," George said. He cocked his ears, trying to listen for sounds of either of the parents approaching, trying to smell them before they saw him. If their brat had ran away in this state, they weren't far behind.

"Well– I– I wanted to put it in the fresh kill pile, like a grown-up hunter," the pup said, confusion turning into loaded sweetness. George could've swore its eyes had expanded to twice their size at the end of its sentence. "My name is Mina, by the way," it added helpfully, little tail wagging hopefully along with its bright eyes. _Shit, don't tell me it's trying what I think it is,_ George thought.

"So your mom just let you run all the way back here and dump your prey here?" he asked. The pup apparently heard the disbelief in his voice, so it straightened up further, licking its scratched up nose with a pale pink tongue.

"Yup, she did," it said cheerfully. It tilted its head, looking at George curiously from its wide eyes. "She was just so proud of me that she let me run allll the way here." He could see its fur fluffing up the same way a little bird fluffed out its feathers before begging for food from its parent. "Do you know my mama?"

"No." George said, pinning the chewed pheasant leg to ground under one of his paws. The pup copied his actions, putting a paw over its shrew.

"Really? 'Cause you sound like you know her," it said, sweetening its tone further. George felt ready to retch behind a few bushes, the mindless display of cute was so sickening. "I mean, you kinda look like she does, and you're eating a bird…"

George pressed down on the pheasant leg harder, trying to ignore the broken skeleton and feathers lying nearby.

"Just because I 'look' like your mother doesn't mean I know her," he responded. "Now go home."

"Really?" the pup said, ignoring his last sentence. It tilted its head back up. "Because if you don't know my mother, you should be asking about her, since we're new and there's not too many other puppies around here…"

Looking at the wide, dark brown eyes, George suddenly realized the trap he'd stepped in, too late. He swore to himself mentally, cursing his carelessness. _Dammit, this brat's dangerous._

"Lots of new dogs come in. I don't go looking for every one of them." he said. George clawed at the pheasant foot, raising the gnawed up section and signifying the conversation was over. The pup didn't take the hint.

"_Really?_" it asked, ignoring his not-too-amused posture and fluttering its sleek stubby ears, "you're sure you _don't know her?_"

"YES." George had to keep his jaws from grinding together. He had little patience with young of any kind, and the way this pup kept trying to heap on the syrupy fake innocent wasn't helping.

"Are you suuuure, mister?" it asked, voice turning into a long, drawn out whine, almost getting directly in George's face. He could smell the scent of Mayu now, Mayu, berries, shrew, and a whole hell of a lot of briars.

"I'm goddamn positive, alright?" he snapped, making the pup back up a step. It stepped on its shrew, blinking at him in shock.

Now expecting Mayu to come out of the forest at any time, George hoped he could come with something that would keep him from getting his throat ripped out over a stupid whelp. Looking at its shocked expression, maybe snapping at it hadn't been a good idea. It wouldn't help his case if Mayu arrived to find her brat crying.

Looking at the pup, George felt a small sense of horror as it sniffed exaggeratedly, ears flopping. It was going to cry. Shit, it was going to cry. Ken, Kagetora, and everyone else would never shut up about this for the rest of their lives if he made one of the new pups start bawling and whining over just one snap. Why the hell were they so sensitive?

The pup sniffed exaggeratedly again, a low whine entering its throat, flipping its ears back. George could sense the torrent coming, and he had no idea what to do.

Suddenly, the pup sat up straight, all traces of oncoming crying gone. "_Oh-my-god-I-have-to-go-I-hear-mom._"

In a few bounces it was three or four feet away before George could blink or start listening for Mayu. "Bye grumpy mister, you can have the shrew!" The pup hurriedly said, taking off across the camp. It took a few seconds for George to register what it had just said, and by the time he'd stood up to protest, it was gone.

George found himself sitting alone once again, only a squashed shrew in front of him.

He pulled his ears back.

"I hate children."


	17. Chapter 17

She didn't like this recent development.

Setsu had already crept to the back of her den, fuming and embarrassed. Her fur was bristling like a briar patch, though she had no one to intimidate, and she could feel the absolute _hate _of everything coursing through her, though she'd been hiding back here for an hour already. How _dare_ they!

Glancing toward the front of her den with pure venom, she huffed angrily, not caring if _he_ heard her or not. This was unacceptable! Despite her anger, Setsu still couldn't bring herself to leave the den. She had no intention of being shamed again, since exploding at the Grandmaster could finish the same way the last discussion earlier had ended. By the end of it, Setsu had swept up the scattered pieces of her broken pride, gathered them, and slowly slunk back into her den while trying to appear as if she wasn't slinking.

Now she was stuck with _him_ as a guard.

"For one shift only, my ass," Setsu muttered, throwing another dirty look at the den entrance. With the way things were going, she was almost missing Zakura and the other random guards she'd had at that time period. Now it seemed the Grandmaster was getting extremely selective, and not in a way that Setsu approved of it. How dare she pick that red eyed freak as her guard!

Fidgeting in her anger, Setsu struggled to stay in her den. First there was the shame and that. . . _warning_ about faking illness, and now this! The Grandmaster knew very well she disliked Alucard, and assigning him to be this close to her was pushing Setsu's patience.

She hadn't bothered to stick around after the Grandmaster broke the news to her, and had shut herself up in den before Alucard even arrived, even holding her breath when the wind had blown into her den to keep from picking up his rancid stench.

She was an _inch_ away from breaking!

Obviously, if the Grandmaster ticked her off, she would show her! She would definitely speak up. Certainly. Right to her face. Without any hesitation. …not that she'd had any to start with. No, she was completely unafraid of the old relic. She was the closest thing to the Grandmaster's level there was inside the clan– why would she be scared of the ancient dog? It wasn't like there was anyone higher than her and the Grandmaster… though the Conclave had been brought up a few times… whoever that was… and Cain had given out more orders than Setsu… not that his were more important, mind you…

Setsu shook her head, getting rid of the final thought. It didn't matter what authority Cain had, second in command or whatever the hell he was to Drake, she trumped it. Somehow. Still feeling sulky, but now having vented some frustration about things in her head, Setsu began to flea herself. She could feel no fleas biting right now, but suddenly felt like she needed something to do. _Anything_ to do. Chew on bones, groom herself, _something._

A feeling of claustrophobia began overtake Setsu as she felt the den distorting, beginning to pull its rock walls in on itself. Her breath sped up, coming out in short gasps, and everything began to twist in a circle like someone had bitten on to the fabric of the world and had started pulling it back, leaving Setsu to stare at the rotating, sucking away edges. The horrible nauseating feeling she'd had in the last training session with the Grandmaster was back, tugging at her insides. Struggling not to puke, Setsu fought back, shoving it away and wrenching its grip off of her.

Suddenly she was almost on the floor, legs feeling like rubber, panting and heaving like she never had before. Shaking, Setsu lowered herself to the ground, barely able to keep from dropping herself while she did so. This couldn't be happening again. Not now. She didn't want that freak Alucard to be outside, listening in on her harsh breathing and heaving, or even worse, decide to investigate and come inside the den only to see her wide eyes, shaking legs, and ruffled fur.

Still shaking, Setsu dragged herself forward, going back further into the den. No, god no, she would not demean herself by letting them see her in her weakness. That was unacceptable as the Container, and unacceptable for her beaten up pride. She would put an end to this sickness before it started, and would escape yet another lecture about faking illness or eating any weird plants whenever she felt ill from the Grandmaster. That old wench wouldn't be able to say anything to her.

Pressing herself up against the far back wall of the cave, Setsu felt a jolt and withdrew. Why was it so cold? This wasn't nightfall or the winter; what the hell was going on? It was only then did Setsu feel the heat radiating off of her fur and heaving chest. Shit, she had some kind of fever. This wasn't good.

In an effort to cool off, Setsu ignored her protesting body and shoved herself completely up against the wall again, letting the cold eat away at the heat. She stayed there, legs slowly beginning to slide down under her, letting her sink down to the floor. She was almost on the verge of completely lying down when she heard the soft footsteps echoing through the den.

Jerking her head up, Setsu stared up at the front of the den, muffling her panting. Someone was there. Clearing her throat, Setsu sucked in air, trying to regain her voice.

"Alucard, leave!" she said, her demanding screech coming out more like a whine. "Go somewhere else, I'm trying to rest!"

There was silence as Setsu tried to listen to any footsteps or movements in the front of the den. She keep her ears up, straining to hear the tiniest sound. There was nothing.

Setsu allowed herself to wheeze again, shaking off her remaining nausea. It was fading slower than before, and her belly was still in pain. God, whatever she was catching was going to earn her hell out of the Grandmaster, and probably a whole ton of that new 'healing herb' she'd been recently giving her. Why did this have to happen to her, brilliant _her_, of all dogs? Setsu knew she definitely didn't deserve whatever sickness was trying to make itself welcome in her body, and she would get rid of it before it went any further.

Setsu smacked her lips, running her tongue over her teeth and licking her slightly dry nose to make it shiny and wet again. She laid out her back legs next to each other, stretching her body to air out her heated pink belly, and spread out her front legs like a sloppy Sphinx. She could feel some of the heat leaving her already, curtsey of her position near the wall and the chilliness of the cave. She leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes as she felt the damp, cold rook.

Just as Setsu was feeling slightly comfortable, she heard footsteps approaching from the outside. Opening her eyes, she pulled her head away and straightened her neck out. _Alucard…!_ She growled.

She could hear the footsteps pausing in front of the den.

"Great… Great Container?" she heard a voice whine hesitantly.

_Not Alucard, then,_ she thought.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" she snapped.

From the sound of the voice, she could tell she was talking to a rather young adult– probably only a three or four year old. Also probably one of the newer ones sent to take care of her whims. A Grandmaster chosen, no doubt. The old witch was now constantly rotating whoever took care of her, whether their job was den cleaning or bringing her tidbits of food. Setsu wouldn't have cared, if it weren't for the fact that these newbies were often terrible and inefficient in the jobs they were given.

"Haloo, medium ranked guard and son of Shulma and Hyra, mam!" the voice immediately responded, stiff and military. "I'm supposed to help you clean your den… if… if you're not still chewing on something, that is," it finished, obviously a little reluctant.

Setsu disliked the puppiness of the voice immediately. What had the Grandmaster sent her, an adult whelp?

"I don't need a den cleaning, so get out." she said. "And while you're leaving, tell that brute Alucard to go catch me something. I want a treat, and I want it _now,_" she ended with her familiar spoiled growl.

"Are you sure? That you don't want a den cleaning, I mean?" the voice asked again. It was already drilling a hole into Setsu's ears.

"NO!" she yelled. She felt like jumping up and strangling the dog or slamming her head against the cave wall until she cracked her skull open. "I TOLD YOU, _JUST TELL ALUCARD TO GET ME SOME FOOD!_"

Setsu vowed to make Alucard's life hell for this. He was lurking around the entrance, supposedly being her 'guard,' but he wouldn't even drive away this brat or speak up and answer it for her, even though she felt sick enough to go out and eat an entire field of grass. _Oh, damn you to hell, you conniving bastard,_ Setsu fumed. This had to be his crude attempt at a joke or something similar.

"Reeeeeaaaally?" the voice asked, going up a few octaves like a dog whistle.

No, this wasn't Alucard's attempt at a joke, it was probably revenge for something. Possibly jealousy.

"**YES!**" Setsu screamed, her voice echoing around the cave. "**GET OUT! GET OUT!**"

There was a pause after her outburst as Setsu found her throat lurching in pain under the stress of yelling so loudly. She breathed in deeply and quickly in attempt to get rid of the pain, sucking in air, every breath she took almost whistling.

She listened to the outside through her breathes, trying to hear the departing footsteps. There were none.

Something shifted at the entrance.

"But I'm not standing inside your cave," the voice whined.

Definitely revenge.

A garbled mixture of growls and cut off of words spewed out of Setsu's mouth, bubbling out from behind her hurting throat. She stuttered a few more times, one eye twitching dangerously and temperature going up before she suddenly cut off.

"…just leave." she said in a small pleading voice that didn't sound like her own. "I don't need your help. Really. Get out. Of my entrance. And my hearing. Now. Please."

There was another pause, and Setsu could hear the dog shuffling around the entrance, still not moving.

"Um… Great Container…?" There was confusion in its voice.

"_What?_" Setsu asked wearily, some snap back in her voice.

"…there's no one outside your den."

XXXX

A massive burp erupted from the young puppy, too massive for one his age. Wing simply viewed it as another metaphorical medal to pin upon his furry chest. Or rather his gut. Wing ran his paw across his engorged belly, a melon sized testament to his triumph. Or rather how he viewed it.

The pup sighed. "Now that was a dinner."

Wing loved to eat. That wasn't a secret. Ever since he was born he had loved food. He recalled all the grandest meals he had. Suckling at his mother's teats, filling himself with her milk, oh Wing remembered those days fondly. Then he was weaned, forced to eat solid food. He had been disappointed at first, but soon he found himself enjoying the broader menu. His parents brought pack rabbits, partridges, squirrels and many other forms of prey.

But it was never enough for him. His parents always limited to how much he ate leaving him grumbling both in stomach and in mouth. Then he found that bear carcass. Although his siblings had strayed away from it, mostly out of fright, he showed no fear in doing so. He tore into that beast and ate like there was no tomorrow.

That moment would rival how he felt today: fat and happy. It would seem his father's promise of good food was not a lie.

Wing's glazed eyes held a euphoric shine as he gazed about, observing the many faces. First were his siblings. Mina looked disgusted, nothing surprising, Kuro looked shocked, then again, he was always shocked whenever his brother gorged himself. Kin held a blend of what appeared to be shock and awe. Likewise, his siblings, his brother Tama, and his two sisters appeared to hold the same sentiments.

"Wow Wing!" Kin exclaimed, "I can't believe you ate that much!" Kin blinked his eyes as he tried to ascertain how his new found friend could fit so much into his belly.

That was another thing Wing liked about Ohu: he had made a new friend. He found some kind of kindred spirit with Kin, they were both mixed breeds, they both had siblings that occasional annoyed them (mostly the sisters), and they were both adventurous, although Wing triumphed Kin in appetite. Wing's eyes drifted from the pups towards the adults. Kin's mother Reika held a paw to her mouth holding her shock in silence. Wing's mother Mayu on the other hand, well the twig she held in her twitching mouth illustrated her feelings. His father Bat kept his expression blank. The same could be said of Kin's own father Hiro, a big and buff looking Great Pyreness.

Mayu mumbled something under her breath. Whatever it was, it was something about being embarrassed. Reika could sense the tenseness in the air, so she thought up an idea.

"Why don't we let the children play? We could go someplace private and chat." The mother looked at the fellow mother in hopes she would share the same idea. Mayu looked towards her bloated son and then to Reika. Switching the twig in her mouth, Mayu came to a decision.

"Bat?" She asked her mate first.

Bat merely responded with, "Why not?"

Likewise, Reika asked her own mate.

Hiro looked toward Bat and then back to Reika. "Alright."

During that brief exchange of glances, Mayu and Reika could sense some form of animosity, distrust even, but the two males said nothing in regards to it.

The adults wandered off but not too far so as to keep an eye on their offspring. Seeing that their parents were preoccupied with grown up stuff, the pups milled about to play. Mina went off with Kin's sisters while Kuro went with Tama. Or rather Tama ended up forcibly playing with Kuro. Kuro wasn't much of a rough houser, but he didn't have a choice in the matter.

Wing sat back full and happy with himself, uncaring to what his siblings or his friends siblings did.

"Man, I've never seen anyone eat that much in my entire life!" Kin further exclaimed. "How did learn how to eat that much?"

Wing opening his mouth to speak but not before Mina opened hers. "It's because he' s a piggy!"

"Shut up!" Wing snapped provoking Mina to stick her tongue out in response.

Wing waited a moment before he answered as he didn't want to be interrupted again. Opening his mouth, another burp emerged. Wing sighed again and patted his belly with pride. "Practice Kin...practice."

And Wing had plenty more practice in store. To be honest he still felt a might peckish.

XXX

"My your son certainly has quite the appetite." Reika attempted to start the conversation.

Mayu chewed on her twig, nearly snapping it. "He probably gets it from his father's side of the family."

Bat was about to retort something, more particular in regards to how much his wife ate whilst she was pregnant. Then again, they had never met his mother. Nevertheless he kept quiet.

"With an appetite that big, the boy is bound to a great fighter." Hiro spoke at last. "Did you ever plan on training him?"

Mayu and Bat didn't know what to say in regards to that. Well Bat didn't at least.

"We simply came here to provide a better life for our children, somewhere they could grow up in peace." Mayu answered truthfully. "But I've been teaching my daughter to hunt recently."

"And your sons?" Hiro asked,

Mayu eyed the dog somehow not liking that last statement. "Of course, all my children will receive the same treatment, I don't play favorites in gender."

Bat and Reika could sense some sort of animosity growing. The way their mates spoke and looked towards each other just seemed to imply something. Mayu kept a solid glare towards the male and he to her. Suddenly, Hiro's glare twitched as Reika nudged him.

"Dear be nice!" She whispered.

"What?" Hiro asked.

"You're being rude!"

"What's rude about that?"

"Well she's Cross's daughter we should be more respectful."

Mayu's twig finally snapped in two. "Bat dear I think we should be going."

Reika let out a light gasp, she was so certain she had kept herself quiet enough. She turned to Hiro with a scolding chide in her eyes. Mayu rose and Bat followed after his mate.

"Thank you for a lovely time but it is getting late." Said Mayu as she walked off.

This wasn't how Reika had planned the evening, it was supposed to be a good chat between parents. She had to remedy this.

"Miss Mayu wait!" Reika ran after the couple. "Please you don't have to leave."

Mayu and Bat stopped at the female's words, they could at least hear her out. Mayu wasn't that annoyed after all. Yet she wanted to hurry up and grab Wing before he found something else for him to nibble on. Knowing Wing, that would be a definite possibility

"Please I apologize for the way my husband acted, we should have been more graceful hosts." Reika bowed apologetically.

Mayu had to admit, she appreciated the gesture. Reika seemed rather lady like in comparison to her. Not sure if that would mean they wouldn't be a good match together as friends, but at the moment Mayu wasn't in a friend making mood.

"Look Reika right? I get what you're trying to do and I don't have any hard feelings towards you. But just stop it." Mayu spoke with a slight harshness in her tone. "I'm only here for my children's sake...nothing else."

Reika sat silent in regards to Mayu's words. She didn't know what to really make of it.

"But what about our boys? They get along so well." Reika reminded.

True, Wing and Kin certainly did get along, and it was nice for Wing to have a friend outside his family. Most pups weren't so lucky. Least the ones who didn't live in packs.

"I didn't say I was keeping them apart, my son son may still play with your son and the same applies to the rest of your pups." Looking back at the Akita Inu, Mayu's gaze softened for the moment. "That's all I have to say to that." Looking back up at her mate, Mayu added. "Bat I'll carry Wing and save your neck the trouble."

Mayu walked off towards the distant sounds of laughter.

Reika sighed in defeat. Her perfect evening had completely failed.

"Don't take it personally Mrs. Reika, my wife has...been through a lot." Bat excused.

"You mean with Cross?"

Bat shot his head up slightly surprised. "You know about that?"

Reika nodded. "News spreads fast. Doubt there isn't anyone who doesn't know about them. I feel sorry for her."

"Mayu wouldn't like to hear that. As you can tell, she has a bit of a temper." He joked.

Reika followed in the joke laughing along with him. "I an see that, but I can tell she really cares for her children."

"WING PUT THAT THING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! YOU'RE BLOATED ENOUGH AS IT IS!" Mayu's voice bellowed out sending chills down both Bat and Mayu's spines.

Bat sighed in the direction his wife's voice came from. "I better go help her. Thank you for the dinner, hopefully our families can meet again." Bat spoke politely.

The Labrador walked away to help his mate towards in rearing their pups. Reika could hear the complaints along with a gassy sounding belch, courtesy of Wing. Soon, Reika would have to gather her own brood up. As much as this night was a failure, Reika had gained a better understanding. Mayu and Bat, both were destined for each other, both were mistrusted. Bat was a leftover from the army of a monster, while Mayu was a stranger who had a negative encounter with one of Ohu's oldest soldiers, even further so a controversy between the two had long since spread, something that many of the new Ohu soldiers had just learned, including her.

Oh well, at least something good had come out of it. Kin wouldn't keep quiet about his new friend. That and he mentioned something about Wing's sister being cute.

XXXX

This was reaching ridiculous levels.

Setsu glared at the guard, just daring him to come closer. He twitched, leaning back. Despite his thick skull, he'd received the message quite well. But Setsu knew it wasn't going to last long. He feared the Grandmaster much more than he feared her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Still, she tried again.

"Get rid of it, this _instant._"

The dog shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Great Container, but I can't obey your orders. I'm under the Grandmaster's commands to give you this."

Setsu ground her teeth together, staring at the wad of disheveled weeds that were hanging out of the guard's mouth. The guard was growing more and more uncomfortable, fidgeting as he held the herbs in his mouth. They gave off a faintly rank scent that made Setsu's belly churn slightly.

"…fine," she eventually snapped, seeing the odd look on the soldier's face. She'd been arguing with him for over five minutes, and if he stood there any longer, she was sure she was going to order his execution.

…_then again,_ she thought, _he's one of the Grandmaster's little pets, so I doubt she'd let it happen…_ Her mood darkened even further.

"Spit out the weed and get out of my sight," she said disgustedly, turning around. "You're dismissed."

The guard gratefully dropped the clump of herbs to the ground, immediately running his tongue over the sides of his lips as if he wanted to cut it on his teeth.

"Yes, Great Container!"

He gave a short dip of his head, briefly pulling his tail in closer to his belly, before turning and quickly scampering out of her den. He looked incredibly relieved to be out, and Setsu couldn't blame him. She snorted in disgust at the wad of herbs in front of her. They stank, and their unnatural dark color was almost enough to incite her to begin scraping at her tongue.

Narrowing her eyes, Setsu shoved them away with her paw. The Grandmaster was insisting that she eat these special herbs more than ever. This was the second day in a row she'd received a clump promptly at morning, afternoon, and evening, and she'd be damned if the piles weren't steadily growing bigger.

Setsu pulled back her lips, a low growl growing in her throat as she stared down the herbs. They usually arrived with a bundle of fresh prey to help her choke them down, but there was none today. She didn't have to think long before she knew way. _That idiot is late again!_ Setsu had to keep herself from grinding her teeth in frustration.

She'd recently noticed that she hadn't been slicing through prey as easily, and had immediately assumed that her new aid was picking out horrible, toughened specimens. But when she'd confronted Haloo about it, he'd denied everything. In fact, he'd pointed out that she was probably wearing down her teeth by grinding them together so much, something that she had been doing while he was talking to her. She'd insulted him and dismissed him to go accompany Alucard on a hunting run, her special favor. It was the least she owed the bulge-eyed freak for letting the Grandmaster introduce Haloo to her.

Well, in hindsight, Setsu decided that it probably would have been better to have sent him off with Drake or the aging Lazarus and hope they'd kill him.

On the other paw, she had a sinking feeling that Haloo would've somehow survived, and come back with an eye hanging out of his head or his guts bouncing around near his feet, cheerfully telling her that it had been the best hunt ever. She shuddered at the thought, hunching up and sweeping her tail closer to her. That brat was near unkillable. Whoever the hell his parents had been had created a complete monster, and there was no getting rid of him. He'd only been her aid for two or three days, yet she'd already felt like seeking them out and throwing herself at them to beg them not to have any more offspring multiple times.

Setsu would have continued to abuse Haloo in her head for much longer if the smell of the herbs hadn't started to diffuse throughout her den. She shook her head, blinking and coming awake. Thanks to the calm, cool air wafting through her cave, the smell of the herbs was spreading quite quickly. If she didn't do something about it soon, then her entire den would reek like them.

The Grandmaster had told her that this was a special treatment– prescribed only to her– that was to keep away all of her cramps and nausea during and after training. So far, it hadn't been working. Setsu still felt like her belly was doing flips the whole time, and she still had to viciously fight against cases of the shivers afterwards. So far, she was winning.

Setsu wrinkled her nose up in distaste at the herbs. Eating them had used to be optional, but not any more. The Grandmaster commanded– not asked; _commanded–_ her to eat them. She didn't have a choice in the matter. Setsu swore under her breath, uncomfortably shifting and staring at the herbs. Setsu do this, Setsu do that– it was as if all of her free will was being halved.

She suddenly felt very stiff and awkward, as if she was in a group and had just said something that shouldn't' have been said– a rare feeling for Setsu. She shuffled awkwardly, flopping her tail. She sniffed, smelling the herbs, and their stench filled her nose, waking her up. Setsu snorted, shaking her head. "Urgh, damn herbs," she muttered, sniffing frantically, distracting herself.

The sound of claws clicking against the cave floor echoed throughout the entire den. Setsu narrowed her eyes, pinning her ears back for a moment. A stranger?

"Container, I brought food!" a peppy voice called out.

She growled, shuddering. So much worse.

Setsu watched in disgust as Haloo trotted into the den entrance, dead rabbit hanging from his jaws. She raised her head higher, looking at him down the end of her nose. "You address me as _Great_ Container, not as _Container_, and you will ask for my permission before you enter my den, not just come in like a stupid pup–"

Haloo was already at the back of the den, sitting in front of her with his tail wagging. He dropped the rabbit, sending herbs flying, spiraling everywhere. Setsu swore violently. She regretted it instantly when it turned Haloo's eyes on her, actually focusing in on her instead of staring blankly.

His large, pleased eyes seemed to morph into the more vigilant, colder adult eyes that were universal to all of the Grandmaster's guards. If she hadn't been around him as much, Setsu would've laughed tauntingly, but she'd had enough Haloo near her to want to groan and roll her eyes instead. The eyes were nothing but a lying front– Haloo couldn't hold his soldierly attitude for more than two lines of conversation. He'd slip back into being an adult pup in no time.

"You're late," Setsu snapped, voice high pitched and angry. "What took you long? I was _starving!_" she whined. She angrily stomped her paw. "Explain yourself, or I'll have you punished!"

Normally, Setsu would've tried to avoid getting into any kind of talk of punishment– or talk in general– with Haloo, but her belly hurt again, and she was extra irritable. Add the herbs to the mix and Haloo's tardiness, and she was just dying to take it out on someone.

Unfortunately, she choose the wrong dog.

"Yes, m'am!" Haloo barked back, straightening up. "Apologies, Container. I was… distracted. By… by a squirrel." He began to slump, ears drooping sheepishly. "It… it ran up a tree, and I just had to chase it, because I was hungry, and I'd killed the rabbit, so I just took off, and then–"

"Shut up!" Setsu screeched. She closed her eyes, feeling her belly churn. Why was it suddenly misbehaving now, around Haloo, of all her rotten luck? If she emptied her stomach in front of that miserable brat, she swore she was going to kill him. Setsu took in a shuddering breath, opening her eyes. Haloo was staring at her, his ears and tail cocked at an odd angle. He genuinely seemed puzzled, sniffing the air in front of her several times before he pulled his muzzle back, eyes fading back into adolescence.

"What are _you_ looking at?" Setsu said.

Haloo's eyes widened, and his ears and tail flew out of their odd positions and stood upright or straightened out. "Nothing at all, m'am," he said, sounding more like whipped pup than soldier. "Just your weird plants, that's all." He thoughtfully turned his head to look around the den at all the spilled and scattered herbs.

"That's hardly nothing," Setsu muttered acidly, but Haloo wasn't paying attention. He was already staring in fascination at all the floppy leaves and stalks, sniffing the air and recoiling slightly at their pungent smell.

"What do these things _do_?" Haloo asked, appalled. "They smell stronger than a dead bear!"

For once– and only once– Setsu found herself agreeing with Haloo. The herbs stunk, even more so today than ever before. They'd been steadily getting worse, their proportions getting bigger, and she hated them even more.

"Are you sure you want these things here?" Haloo continued, wrinkling his muzzle in disgust at the leaves. "They can't be nice to have around. Who gave them to you?"

"None of your business," Setsu said, swishing her tail in agitation and giving Haloo a cold glare. "It's confidential. Just between me and the Grandmaster," she said, raising her nose higher condescendingly.

"Oh," Haloo said. He immediately stopped distastefully sniffing at a leaf he'd pawed over to himself, pulling away. "Aren't you hungry?"

An odd feeling pulled at Setsu's stomach as she watched Haloo, and not the usual nausea she felt. She found herself observing the distance he'd put between himself and the leaf, as if just mentioning the word "Grandmaster" made it part of a higher plane than himself. Even though it was only a foot away, and he'd been vigorously poking and smelling at a second ago, all curiosity had instantly died when she'd mentioned the Grandmaster's name, and an apparent wall had gone up between them.

"Not really," Setsu lied. She licked his lips, suddenly feeling the need to wet her nose again. Haloo prodded the rabbit with his snout, rolling it over with a clumsy curiosity. He flinched its legs hit the cave floor, pulling his head back, but was immediately on top of it again in seconds, nose snuffling over its chest fur and neck. Setsu drew back at his sudden intensity. Why was he going over the rabbit so vigorously when he was the one who killed it? He was well aware how it had died.

"So… Haloo," Setsu said, struggling to keep herself from recoiling from his loud snuffles, "did you see Cain or the Grandmaster anywhere today, or are they in a meeting?"

Setsu felt a sudden bitter weight on her tongue when she mentioned the Grandmaster's name.

Haloo, not noticing anything, perked his head up. He was completely unconscious of Setsu's much sweeter tone and more seductive pose, or the grimace that had passed over her face a few mere moments ago.

"I don't watch the Grandmaster. I watch you."

Setsu blinked in surprise. She frowned, flicking her ears back and pulling her lips back for a split second.

"I know that, obviously. But she assigned you to me, right? You should've seen her earlier."

"You're the Container, not me," Haloo pointed out. "If anyone's close to her, it's you. In rank, that is." He flipped the rabbit over again, looking ready to squirm in excitement and play. Setsu was stunned into silence.

Finally, she was pulled out of her thoughts when a familiar bitter smell hit her nose. Setsu shuddered, growling. She huffed angrily at the herbs. She'd forgotten they were still here and needed to be eaten. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

Haloo was still toying with the rabbit when it was abruptly jerked away from him. He blinked in shock at Setsu's possessive eyes before realizing what he had been doing. "Sorry," he whimpered, bowing his head and tucking his tail between his legs, "I forgot it was yours, Container, please please pleee_eee_eeaaase forgive me–"

"Oh, shut up," Setsu said. Haloo blinked again. Setsu sounded oddly good natured. She plopped down, holding the rabbit between her paws and licking her lips. "You were hungry, after all. You haven't eaten, have you?"

Haloo licked his lips excitedly. Food? "No, m'am, I haven't, but I was busy chasing a squirrel so–"

"Just **shut up **already," Setsu snapped, good natured quickly disappearing. She ground her teeth together for a moment before breathing in deeply. Haloo watched her blankly. She breathed out again after seemingly counting under her breath. Setsu looked up at him again, ears up and fur fluffed out.

"Anyway," she continued, squeezing the rabbit, "since you're hungry, you can do me a favor. I have… scraps I want you to eat," she said, fishing for a word that would make Haloo pleased. Sure enough, at the sound of "scraps," he was immediately interested, eyes wide and tail wagging.

"Scraps? I'll eat any of them!" he said excitedly, tongue dripping with drool. Setsu smoothed the ears on the rabbit's head back with her claws, stroking the corpse's head. That was exactly what she'd wanted to hear.

"Good," she responded. "In that case, eat all of my herbs."

Haloo hesitated for a only a moment. "Will do!"

"But wait!" Setsu said sharply, making him stop in his tracks, "that's not all."

She paused, trying to find the appropriately flattering words. "Since you're such a… devoted and loyal aid… to your… master," she said, grasping the word she wanted, "I'm giving you a special break. You and you only. In fact, you have a den all to yourself. Just go to the pocket cave near the infirmary and tell the guards there I told you to go and stay, and that they aren't supposed to say anything else to ANY of the other guards. Is that clear?"

Haloo looked ready to hyperventilate. "Really? Really?" He bounced up and down, quivering with pure joy and tongue hanging out of his mouth until he remembered who he was front of. He instantly froze, turning to Setsu.

"Thank you Container, this is the best-break-ever-and-I-can't-believe-you-said-I-was-loyal–"

"It was nothing," Setsu said dismissively. Smiling, tail wagging in a few circles of halfhearted happiness, she took a bite of her rabbit. Setsu swallowed it down, licking her lips at the taste of the stilled blood.

"Well? Are you going to get eating? Those weeds aren't going to swallow themselves, idiot," she scoffed.

Tail wagging, Haloo took a bite of the first clump of herbs.

XXXX

"You're lying."

"Am not."

"I bet you a whole stack of rabbits that you are."

Kin snorted. "You would never have a whole stack of rabbits, you'd eat them first if you could steal them." The little pup rolled on his side, sniffing the grass that tickled his nose.

Both of the puppies were lounging around in one of the many patches of grass in the innards of the Ohu camp, sprawled out and arguing about nothing. Normally, this would've been impossible with Wing's mother's protectiveness, but after Bat had pulled Mayu aside in the aftermath of their little dinner with Kin's family, they'd been given the okay to wander around the center of the camp by themselves– provided they stuck to the center, of course.

Though they were hidden in their little patch of tall, bendy grass they were surrounded by adults. Wing stuck his tongue out at Kin before poking his nose from between the grass, parting the blades and sniffing furiously. Using nose to keep a gap in the grass open, he peeked out. Around twelve to fifteen soldiers were all relaxing in the bald clearing surrounding their little hiding spot, all spread out. Most of them were napping or sunning, a few lazily chatting in groups with their buddies. No one was in a big hurry to go anywhere.

Wing pulled his head back into the grass. "Do you know anyone we can go after?"

Kin pawed at his nose, growling shrilly and snapping at a beetle crawling nearby. "Nope."

"What about your dad?" Wing asked. He'd taken a liking to what he'd seen of Kin's dad– a giant, cream and yellowish and brown colored mammoth who seemed to take up your entire frame of vision with his huge body and puffy waves of fur. Wing had never seen puffy fur before. It greatly interested him.

"He's on a hunting trip or something, maybe talking to mom." Kin snapped at the beetle again, watching as it moved backwards and paused before it took off forward again.

"Ah," Wing said, disappointed.

He liked Kin's mom, but she was not a suitable subject for harassment on fighting techniques or battle scars. The reddish furred akita was, surprisingly, sweet and _quiet._ When Wing had told this to Kin (in more puppish, blustering words) Kin had just given him an odd look and told him that his mom was kind of talkative, and pretty much at the same noise level as everyone else. At this point, Wing realized that Reika wasn't quiet– his own mother merely had a loudmouth. Particularly when he'd done something bad, like whacked Kuro over the head or bit Mina on the rump when she wasn't looking. It figured.

Kin finally snapped at the beetle a little too quickly, and he yipped in surprise at actually having the crunchy insect in his mouth. Rolling over, he hacked and spat it out, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth in disgust for good measure. Wing watched his friend curiously for a moment.

"What?"

"Ate a bug," Kin said dismissively. Wing shrugged. He knew all about eating bugs. They were fun to play with until you actually caught one when you didn't want it. Actually, for the most part, they didn't taste that bad. It was just the whole catching them when you still wanted to play with them thing.

Wing pulled himself up, pushing his chest out and doing his best to imitate a pack leader. "Well, I think we should–"

"Wing, Kin! There you guys are!"

Wing cringed and stumbled over as Mina's face suddenly appeared in the grass directly behind him. "AHHH, Mina!" He scrambled to his feet, trampling down grass and making sure to stand up a good distance away from his sister.

Kin sheepishly got to his feet, hoping there were no beetle pieces hanging out of his mouth. "Hi, Mina."

"Hey, Kin."

"Kin, what're you doing?" Wing asked, infuriated. "We don't want her here; you don't wanna encourage her!" He did his best to imitate the tone of voice his mother took with him whenever Kuro whined to her about Wing teasing him in front of his face.

Realizing what he was doing, Mina rolled her eyes. "C'mon guys, let me hang out with you. Please!" she whined, walking into the grass patch. Wing growled bad naturedly, but one dark look from Mina shut him up. She may have been a little smaller than him, but she definitely knew how to put her rows of needle-sharp teeth to use.

"Aren't you going to go play with Kuro or something?" Wing said, once he'd moved back a safe distance away from his sister's jaws. Kin watched the two siblings from the middle ground.

"Kuro," Mina said, emphasizing his name, "is playing with Kin's sisters. And Tama is off with Mr. Hiro or his mom or something, so I have nothing to do."

"Couldn't you go stick around with–"

Mina cut Wing off. "Dad is talking to some of his old friends, and mom is off hunting way out there. No; no I can't." She gave Wing a fierce look. "So you had better suck it up and let me stay with you guys, or else."

Wing scoffed, but at the same time, didn't push the issue. It was not good to make Mina mad. It took her a while to get fired up, but when she did, her temper rivaled their mother's. There was no telling what she'd do if she found him napping later on.

Kin scratched his ear with his back leg. "We'd better let her, Wing. If we don't, then she'll probably give us girly fleas or something."

Mina shot Kin a look, but nevertheless wagged her tail at his decision. "See, Wing? Kin doesn't mind. The only one who's being a spoiler is you."

Wing gave Kin a look much like the one Mina had given him earlier. Kin was going to pay for his choice later. Seeing the expression on his face, Kin gave Wing a small roll of his eyes and an ear twitch. _Whatever._

"Fine," Wing said, voice filled with immature disdain, "you can come. But only because."

"Great!" Mina said happily. She plopped down the grass. "But come where?"

Both Kin and Wing blinked. Where? They hadn't been really thinking of going to any certain place, and for the most part, they'd been just spying on the adults out of their little grass patch. Even then, that had been pretty boring– no one was talking about any fights or doing anything other than lounge around.

"Weeeeell…" Kin said, drawing the word out and awkwardly averting his eyes.

Mina blinked, surprised, before she got a flat look of disbelief on her face.

"…you guys weren't doing anything, were you?"

"Kindof, no, n-not reeeeaaally…" Wing said, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and avoiding his sister's eyes.

"You guys're so unbelievable," Mina said, sounding disgusted. She huffed angrily, folding her paws over each other. "Well, in that case, we gotta find something to do. We don't know how long mom's going to let us go on like this, so we have to make the best of it."

"Don't tell me what to do," Wing said, but there was no real force in his snap. He was too busy thinking. Mina was right. They had to do something with their freedom before their mother went back to her bossy, protective self and had them nearby all the time. But what?

"Hey, it's Uncle GB and Grandpa Kurotora."

Both siblings raised their heads and turned to look at Kin, who was peering out of the grass.

"Who?" Wing asked.

"Uncle GB and Grandpa Kurotora," Kin repeated. "They're both old soldiers– well, Grandpa is; Uncle used to be a spy– who hang around the camp a lot." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I think Grandpa's just getting old and doesn't want to admit it."

Wing's eyes almost bulged out of his head. "_A spy?_"he squeaked. Soldiers were one brand of awe filling figures; spies were another. As far as Wing could tell, there were a whole lot less spies than them, which made the ones that existed extra special.

Mina tilted her head to the side. "So Grandpa Kurotora's just an old soldier?"

Kin lifted his head up and pulled his ears back to give Mina a pitying look that seemed to say, 'Poor, poor fool.'

"Just an old soldier? Pfft, not even _close,_" he said, giving a shake of his head for emphasis. "Grandpa Kurotora fought the giant bear Akakabuto with everyone else, and his brother Akatora took out the monster's eye. He's like, the best– no the _bestiest_– soldier ever!" Kin paused, looking thoughtful. "Next to my dad and Gin, of course." he added.

Wing was practically trembling in anticipation. This was a brand new level of awe. Even Mina looked highly impressed. But it still didn't keep her from adding, "And our dad, too."

"And your dad, too," Kin amended.

Wing had had enough of sitting around. "Well, c'mon, let's go meet them!" he said, bouncing out of the grass patch. He was immediately followed after by a tumbling Kin and a neatly trotting Mina. Kin, spotting the faded stripes and splotchy black spots, took the lead. He ran off, yelping "Uncle! Grandpa!"

The puppies descended on the two like flies.

GB and Kurotora broke out of their conversation to look up at the advancing wave. Kurotora chuckled. "Well, if it isn't a pack of rogues."

GB perked up at Kin skidding to a stop in front of him. "Hey, kiddo, what's up?" He glanced over at Wing and Mina behind him. "These some of your new friends?"

"Uh-huh," Kin said happily, trying to catch his breath. "They're new."

Mina politely sat down in front of them, tail wagging. "My name is Mina. And this is my brother–"

"Wing!" Wing proudly introduced himself, getting up front with Kin.

"Cheh, you're Bat's lot, aren't you?" Kurotora asked with amusement. "I could've figured just as much."

"You know dad?" Mina asked.

Kurotora snorted. "You could say that."

GB chuckled. "Don't pay attention to Kurotora, he's just a sore old geezer," he said, noticing how Mina was hanging back from her far more curious companions, who were already pestering Kurotora with questions. "Come on up, then," he said fondly.

Mina had been slightly wary from her last encounter with an Ohu soldier, remembering how grumpy he'd been. He hadn't looked that old, either. Mr. Hiro and Mrs. Reika had been very nice, but they just didn't have the totally soldier feel to them like Kurotora did, and they weren't as old. Mina had feared that if a regular soldier could be that grumpy, an old, retired one would be much worse. But seeing he was already enthralling her brother and Kin with some kind of old war story, she decided it would be okay. Besides, the nice spotty mister was calling her over.

Mina trotted over, shyness quickly disappearing. She sat down by GB just in her time to hear her brother excitedly ask, "Did you really fight Akakarbota?"

"Wing!" she exclaimed. Kin nipped his new best friend on the ear. "You said it wrong, dummy," he scolded, while Kurotora chuckled in an old, raspy voice.

"Did not," Wing protested.

"Did too," Kin shot back. "My dad told me how to say it, and you didn't say it like he did."

"So?" Wing asked. He thought about his situation for a moment before coming up with the appropriate response. "My dad is awesomer than your dad."

"Is not," Kin growled.

Mina rolled her eyes from her new perch on GB's head and back, where she'd clambered up moments ago. Usually, she didn't do this with anyone other than her father, but then again, she hadn't met too many other adults than her parents to do so with. Mr.– or uncle– GB radiated absolute warmness and a kind of goofiness she rarely saw in her own parents, so she decided it would be okay to sit on his head. That and he wasn't trying to shake her off very hard.

"Is too," Wing said.

Kurotora did nothing to stop the argument, watching it. "Looks like we've already got two new soldiers," he said as Wing and Kin puffed their fur out to intimidate each other.

"More like two new fuzzbrains," Mina muttered as she tried to cling on GB's neck, pulling herself up on his stringy ear.

"Oi," GB said.

"My dad is awesomer," Kin said, trying to formulate an argument, "because he has an awesome nickname and fighting style tact thing."

"Oh really?" Wing said.

"Yeah, really," Kin said, having finally found his argument. "When other dogs hear about him, your dad is just called Bat. That's it. Or he's called Bat the Blind or something. But _my_ dad," he said, lying the stress on each word, "isn't just called 'Hiro.' He's called Hiro the Bal–"

"Change of subject," GB said abruptly, cutting Kin off. Kurotora sniggered. "Come on, now," he said, noticing the disappointed and disgruntled looks on Kin and Wing's faces, "both of your dads are good soldiers… even though not they're not as good as I was. End of argument."

"Agreed," Mina said. "With most of it."

"Shut up, Mina." Wing said.

Mina stuck out her tongue triumphantly from GB's head, having finally gotten the settler to give up on shaking her off. She had her claws buried in his tender ear fur, and pulling or tipping the heavy little pup off was not a good move unless he wanted to be in pain. "You're just mad because you're not as tall as Mr. GB or mom and your fringy ears look stupid instead of nice and get caught in all the briars."

Wing started to growl at his sister, but quickly switched his anger to Kin, who was snickering behind him very unsympathetically. "Shut up, Kin."

"Oi, might want to let off the shut ups for now, kid, you don't want someone to go after you in your sleep," Kurotora said.

Wing settled for giving one more dirty look at both of his traitorous accomplices, particularly Kin, before he turned his attention back to Kurotora. "Anyways, did you fight Akaka– Akuka– Akraba– the giant bear near here?"

"Damned right I did," Kurotora said, fierce pride in his eyes and voice. "All of us in Gin's pack took that demon down not even a mile away, right on top of Gajou."

Mina settled down on GB's head, stretching out of her body and finally unhooking her blunt little claws from his ears. When he made movements to gently tip her off back on to the ground, she promptly put them back. GB groaned.

"Gajou?" she asked, getting comfortable.

Wing turned his attention from his sister back to Kurotora's scarred face. "Yeah, what is Gajou?

Kurotora looked surprised. "You don't know what Gajou is? Damn, Bat hasn't told you two anything." The older dog shifted his shoulders, preparing for a long talk. The puppies noticed it and plopped down on the ground, getting comfortable for the story. Finally, Kurotora cleared his throat and began.

"The first thing you need to know is…"

XXXX

Setsu walked around the edge of the camp, two guards flanking her. She glanced from side to side, but couldn't see much from being sandwiched in between the two large akitas that had come to get her. Their fluffy fur and broad chests were nearly impossible to see past without sticking her head out in front of them, and Setsu didn't want to do that. There was a better chance someone would see her if she did.

As they continued on, Setsu doing her best to match her strides to the akitas', they finally looped inwards and made for a small cave almost on the camp outskirts. Both the akitas took a quick look around and cautiously sniffed the air before they moved away from Setsu.

"Coast is clear, Great Container. We'll wait for you."

"It's unnecessary," Setsu responded coolly, eyeing the single guard positioned at the cave's dark entrance. "I don't require an escort back."

Both of the akitas gave suspicious glances at the guard, forcing him to turn his head away from them and lower his ears. One of them walked closer to her, putting its head down to her level.

"If someone were to see you…" the other akita said warningly, voice low. The other was still staring at the guard, making him unnaturally stiff and uncomfortable as he did as best to ignore Setsu and her guard consulting.

"That would pose no threat. I would tell them I was out on a walk, or on my designated exercise run. They wouldn't dare to question me." Setsu tipped her head condescendingly.

As the dog pulled away from her, the other stopped staring down the guard, making him visibly relax. The akitas didn't look fully convinced of her answer, but they nevertheless nodded their large heads at her and turned and left, trotting back into camp. Once they were gone, Setsu adjusted herself, flicking her ears and giving her fur a shake to fluff it out. She would have to radiate complete calmness and control in this meeting. Less than six dogs in the entire camp knew about this set-up, and she didn't intend on stretching the number by giving the cave guard something else to be suspicious about.

The guard stood to attention as Setsu advanced towards him, taking petite, controlled steps. She stopped short of the cave entrance. It was too dark to see anything.

"Great Container, here to see your aid, correct?" the guard asked.

"The one and only." Setsu said, lazily letting her eyes roam towards the inside of the cave and back away to the camp. She felt agitated. Why had she chosen this time of day to visit? The sun over the cave lip made it impossible to see anything inside in the resulting shadow.

The guard watched her for a moment before sticking his head into the cave. Setsu stood back, doing her best to suppress her impatience. After a brief pause, the guard pulled out again.

"Great Container, is your visit urgent?"

Setsu blinked at his question. What was he doing? She was the Container, coming to see her personal aid, who was supposed to be catering to her every want and need. _Of course _her visit was urgent.

"Yes," she said. "I demand to see my aid this instant."

The guard stiffened at the sudden agitation in her voice. "Great Container," he said pleadingly, "I am not trying to disrespect you in any way or form, m'am." Setsu saw him lick his nose nervously, shifting his weight on his front paws repeatedly. "But I suggest you return to check on your aid later."

Something about how the guard was trying to avoid her eyes made her extremely uncomfortable. Setsu could feel her fur prickling. It usually made her angry or annoyed when someone she was speaking to refused to look at her face. What was this chill?

"I still demand to see him," Setsu said. She heard her voice come out just as commanding as before, even though she hadn't told it to.

The guard winced. Finally, he took a deep breath, trying to hide it from Setsu. She noticed, but pretended she hadn't. "Great Container, if you would please step this way."

Setsu recoiled slightly, looking at the guard standing in the entrance of the dark, small cave. "He's not coming out?"

The guard looked at her oddly. "No. If you wish to see your aid, you must enter." His ears perked up hopefully. "But if you've changed your mind–"

"I'm going in," Setsu said flatly, walking forward and brushing past the guard. She thought she heard him stutter something and bite it back, but he didn't follow her.

Once she was out of the sun and fully into the cave, guard no longer standing outside the front, she shuddered. Setsu wished she still had the extra fur on her belly, and everywhere else, too. The dankness of the cave was completely unlike her own den. Hers was merely damp and cool. This cave was filled with an overwhelmingly sour, heavy air.

Setsu paused. She cocked her ears, and immediately sucked in air. She could hear a feeble, hindered breathing sound up ahead. It pulled in and out rhythmically, being punctuated by a shudder at the end of every inhale. There was a dim outline of a body laying stretched out in the floor, chest softly rising and falling. Setsu realized that this meant he was sleeping.

Normally, she would've approached and screamed at him to get up, or have had another guard roll him over. Then again, Haloo never slept on the job, or during the day, period. He was late, sure, but he didn't sleep. Setsu had often wished he would, just to shut up for a while, but he there was some sort of boundless energy that kept him staying wide awake, no matter what. Sleeping in the day while there were still things to be done was some sort of cardinal sin that would get you sent straight to hell.

Setsu suddenly wanted out of the cave.

She turned and went for the entrance, realizing she was dashing in spite of herself. She barely managed to slow herself down before she left the cave entrance. The guard looked at her oddly.

"He was sleeping," Setsu said, forcing her breathing and words to be regular. She held up her head high, in case the guard was doubting her calmness. He merely nodded.

"He does that when he can."

Setsu blinked, then shook her head, ready to leave. She turned away. "Thank you for your assistance," she said crisply. "I'm going to–"

There was the sound of claws clicking in the cave.

Setsu whirled around. She stared in horror, feeling her fur set on edge. The guard stood up. He narrowed his eyes, growling. "No you don't. Go back to sleep. You're in no condition to be doing this."

"I'm… I'm awake… let… let me out…"

Haloo blinked slowly in surprise as he entered the sunshine. "Con…tain…er?"

Haloo didn't look like Haloo any more. Her aid's usually bright and puppish eyes were dull and glazed over, making him seem almost blind. Every single step he took was a wobble, and his legs seemed ready to fold under him at any second. His fur was mussed up from laying on the floor in different positions, but he hadn't bothered to groom it. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Setsu realized that the sour smell wasn't the cave's– it was his.

"Haloo, how did–" Setsu found her voice closing off.

Haloo made an attempt to wag and show happiness at hearing his name as the guard tried to get him to go back into the cave. All that happened was two small jerks of the limp thing that was supposed to be his tail. "I'm… feelin'… kind of…"

Suddenly, Haloo staggered to the right, violently retching into the nearby weeds. The guard stepped back to give him some space. Setsu herself felt like being sick.

"Is he going to–"

"Give him a few minutes," the guard said dismissively, a look of disgust crossing his face as Haloo continued to gag.

Setsu tried to pull her eyes away from Haloo's spasming, trembling body, his head down in the grass, shivering tail tucked between his legs.

"Is it going to be fatal?" she asked, feeling a horrible fear sink into her belly.

The guard, misunderstanding why her words were so fearful, walked over to the now finished Haloo, prodding the rubber legged dog back towards the cave. "No," he said somewhat comfortingly, "your aid is going to be fine, give or take a few days."

Haloo tried to protest being put back in the cave, glassy eyes still moving sluggishly, when he suddenly burst free of the guard's hold and lunged into the nearest bush. Setsu winced at the splattering sound that followed.

The guard looked at his shaking form sympathetically. "Don't know what he ate or came down with, but it'll be out of his system soon enough. It's definitely non-lethal."

Setsu couldn't move.

"Still," the guard continued, "it's good that you or your other guards made him come here so we could isolate him. In this state he's so weak he's practically open to anything."

Haloo's horrible retching finally came to a shuddering stop.

Setsu took several steps back, seeing the unconcerned guard looking at her and the dull eyed Haloo pulling his head out of the bush, a line of drool leaking out of his mouth.

"I have to go," she said, backing up further.

"Alright," said the guard, bowing briefly in submission, "Great Container."

Setsu was running away as he finished the bow, unable to force herself to walk as the guard shoved Haloo back into the cave, as he spluttered something else before he was finally pushed back in. She found herself slowing down when she nearer to the middle of the camp outskirts, but any greetings that were given to her fell on deaf ears. She felt like the world was swarming around her.

When she finally reached her den, she felt relief. She was home, wasn't she? Yet when she took a single step into her cave, she immediately smelled the sour smell of the herb in the air, and remembered the belly cramps and Haloo eagerly eating everything. She found herself wanting to puke, and panicking, till Setsu finally turned away and took off running into the woods as fast as she could go, in the opposite direction of the last border patrol.

XXX

"_Is it time?"_

"_Soon, very soon."_

"_But it's been so long."_

"_Too long since we passed ourselves."_

"_It will happen; they've prepared the Container."_

"_Soon we'll be free. We've bided our time, bided our time."_

"_Our time, our time. Soon we'll be free in the world, in the world!"_

The Grandmaster felt the voices silence. Pawing at the ground helped drown out their incessant chatter. The Conclave, the collective essence of her ancestors, had waited long enough. A weary cough choked her throat. All around her, she could feel her body age. The light of youth had long left her eyes. Once long ago, she was young and restless, ready to take the position of Grandmaster. That happened upon her father's death, and she received the gift of the Conclave.

Her father, now there was a Grandmaster. The Clan had remained in the shadows for too long. So long that restlessness had grown out amongst the younger more foolhardy members of the Clan. A good Grandmaster knew how to keep the rabble quieted, knew how to prevent the seeds of rebellion. That was exactly what her father had done. Such command he carried. None dared to oppose him. There was so much she had learned from him. When the title was bestowed to her, she strived to live up to what her father had been. In time she would pass on the title to her own worthy child.

Yet, that wasn't to be.

That damned sickness! Had it not stricken her, she wouldn't have been reduced to a sterile bitch. Without a proper heir, the Grandmaster line would end with her. All at once, she felt the crushing memories and emotions from that day once more. Their had yet to come then, to lead her clan at such a time would be unacceptable, suicide even. Hope had almost left her entirely.

Yet the Conclave offered their wisdom. That wisdom, was the Container. Such a perfect backup plan: Raise a female, have her undertake the proper rituals and conditioning. In other words, a perfect replacement body. However, only those with the proper...soul would be able to contain the pure power of the Conclave.

What was the name of the previous attempt? That name no longer mattered; the body of that failure pup had been tossed into the boneyard to rot. Setsu would be the one. Giddiness spread throughout her old frame. It felt like her younger days had returned to her once more.

"Grandmaster!"

The elder turned her ancient head towards the sound of Cain's voice. Cain, such a loyal and devoted son. He very well may have been her son. After all, he had filled the void that sterility had left her with. More memories danced about, Cain's puphood days. Really those were the only moments where she would show tenderness.

In time, Cain had grown to be the very dog to suit her needs. The needs for the Container rather.

"Cain, what is it?" She asked with traces of elatedness in her voice. Then she noticed the way Cain's body tensed itself. The young dog looked at his grandmaster with a feeling in his eyes. "Cain?"

Now she could see the emotion: panic. "Grandmaster! The Container! She's gone!"

The Grandmaster felt her eyes widen, her brittle bones sensitive to bodily action. Good memories went up in smoke that very instant. This couldn't be happening; it shouldn't be happening. Soon she found herself following Cain to Setsu's chamber.

"She's still there, she's still there." The Grandmaster reassured herself. It was all she could do for her poor heart. When she arrived, she found several guards stationed at the chamber opening.

"Out of my way!" She ordered and they obeyed.

They bowed their heads respectively, but the Grandmaster had no time for their signs of loyalty. Setsu was right there, she would see everything was alright. To her horror she found her hopes and dreams destroyed right then and there. Nervously her eye twitched at the barren chamber.

Fury overtook her, turning around she glared angrily at the assembled dogs. "WHERE IS SHE!" bellowed the female.

The guards were taken aback by their leader's wrath. Most had not seen her this furious and some believed doing so would be to much for her old body.

"Well?" Her voice softened a little but the anger still remained evident.

The guards looked at one another, too petrified to give an answer. The Grandmaster nearly barked again until Cain spoke.

"This one saw her last." He gestured to the guard who showed the most fear.

The Grandmaster gave a scoff of disgust as she approached the soldier. The others backed away keeping their heads bowed all the same. Underneath her glare, the guard muttered something, prayers or lining up excuses, not that they would help him now in his position.

"Look at me!" She commanded.

The guard had no choice but to obey the voice of his grandmaster. Fearfully gazing upward, he could still see his scared reflection staring back at him. In the grandmaster's eyes, he had never seen such fury before in his life, yet at the same time she managed to contain it.

"Do you realize what you have just done?" The Grandmaster spoke as if she were reprimanding a puppy. The guard said nothing only looking down at his paws. "I SAID LOOK AT ME!" The extremity of the tone brought his head back up again.

Whimpers shook his body as he attempted to plead his case. Tears actually ran down his face, as he knew that those who displeased the Grandmaster were met with a terrible fate.

"I'm sorry, my Grandmaster! I-I-I just made a mistake, it wasn't my fault!" came the guards excuse.

The Grandmaster's body relaxed that instant. The guard could no longer feel the fury that had previously been evident. Perhaps he had been forgiven? Yes, that had to be it. After all it was a mistake, a mistake he was very sorry for, but he could prove himself. Yes! The Grandmaster would assuredly show some mercy to a truly repentant soldier.

"Kill him." Came the blunt response.

The guards eyes bulged as the other guards dragged him up by the scruff of his neck. "No please! It was a mistake!" He pleaded again, even wept.

"Do it away from here." The Grandmaster added to the order.

The guard merely stared in horror as he was dragged away into the darkness. Now that the matter was out of the way, the Grandmaster had more important ones to attend to. "Find her, do whatever it takes."

Cain didn't need to be told that. He would have gladly done it, anything for the sake of his clan and grandmaster. "Consider it done." He reverently bowed.

The Grandmaster smiled and rubbed her paw against his head, something she hadn't done since Cain was a puppy. Cain felt the familiar feeling and was surprised by it. Surprised, and a tad embarrassed. Thank goodness no one was watching, at least he hoped.

"Such a loyal son you are." The Grandmaster praised.

Cain didn't know how to react to that word, he merely bowed once more and went off to obey his orders. The Grandmaster sighed pleasantly to herself. Setsu would have to return with Cain. After all, they were destined for one another.

XXX

Alucard kept his distance from the other members of the Clan for quite some time. It was just as it was when he was first recruited as a young pup. His red eyes adjusted well to the darkness of the caverns. In some way it soothed him, felt like the only place he could truly feel at home. He couldn't feel any comfort, not since that day.

"_Mayu...Mao."_

He thought about them a lot. At first he had tried to put them out of his mind, just as he had done with his deceased owners. The more he did however, the more the memories just came back to him. It made him feel guilty for putting aside such tender memories. The latter, he had gone to the boneyard before, the stench of the many years of death permeating his nose. Mao's tortured body laid amongst the bones and still rotting corpses. He would only glance momentarily to see where the Saluki's body might be, but would always walk away as silently as he came.

Then there was Mayu. Luckily for him, no one had caught on that he was the one who had helped her escape. Or they did know but kept him along for some reason. Whatever the case, Mayu had escaped with her life into the unknown wild. What was she doing now? Was she safe? Was she happy?

He growled in frustration. Why did he think of this now? They were gone end of story. There it was again. As he tried to hide those emotions, they came back in full fury. Those two pups were like siblings to him, a brother and a sister that he taught and kept safe. As well they gave him hope and comfort in this dreary place.

Suddenly he heard movement. Shapes moved about in the dark. Voices sprang up from the shadows.

"She's really gone?"

"What will happen to the Clan?"

"Don't speak such nonsense, we'll get her back!"

That last voice belonged to Cain. The way they moved with such urgency, Alucard knew right away whom "she" refereed to.

"Alucard?" Cain's voice called through the dark.

Alucard kept still, making some think he was sleeping.

"I know you're awake, blood drinker."

Alucard opened his eyes, their red glow shining like little lamps. "Yeah Cain?" He asked with no particular interest in his voice. Partly he wanted to toy with Cain a bit. The Grandmaster's personal "pet" was always fun to jerk him around due to his dutifulness.

"The Container has escaped." Cain bluntly explained.

Alucard raised another eye. "Oh? Is that so?"

Cain nodded, not seeing he was being toyed with, that or not caring. "I need you for the search party, your skills would be most useful."

"What about Drake?" Alucard asked, "surely the child eater would be interested in hunting down a stray member of the flock."

"Drake is away with his own duties. Lazarus is busy teaching so I need you."

That last bit almost sounded like a plead. Made perfect sense, seeing as Cain's position was something many members tried to sweet talk their way to. That and the Container was important for the Clan's future. Without her, they wouldn't survive. Alucard didn't see a problem with that, but he kept that bit of personal feelings to himself. Really he had no choice but to go along with it.

"Very well, you can count on me."

A great group left that day to seek out the wayward Setsu. She could run, but she wouldn't get far. Her scent still hung in the air.


	18. Chapter 18

Setsu's chest felt heavy as her feet carried her along. In one corner of her mind she felt the urge to stop, but the other half urged her along. She couldn't stop, not now; they were behind her, she could feel it. The trees towered high into the air breaching the skyline; they were like giants, imposing and grand. They intimidated her with their presence; their sheer wooden might, and the dark overcast the leaves made.

For the first time in a long time, Setsu felt truly afraid. Their scents were behind her, breathing down her neck and making her hair stand on end. There were a lot of them. Alucard, Cain, along with several other scents she couldn't differentiate, probably just normal soldiers; random fodder that weren't worth mention.

"There she is!"

Setsu let out a tiny gasp. They had caught up with her? This fast? The female hastened her pace; she had to keep one step ahead of her pursuers. Still, that wouldn't be enough. The sound of their paws reached her ears. They had gotten closer than they had been before. At the corner of her eye a blur zipped by. Another blur came, followed by another and it went on until the scents grew stronger.

The blurs slowed down, solidifying into proper furry shapes. Setsu could see the whole lot. Most of them were indeed random dogs of the Clan, while Alucard's black shape stood out amongst them. There was movement behind her; a familiar scent reached her. Turning around she was met with more soldiers. At the head of this group was none other than Cain.

"You can't escape, Setsu. Be a good girl and heel." Cain's warning was followed by a small but short growl.

Setsu looked around her to find any way of escape. Everywhere her eyes went, she found no such escape present. Wherever they went, a clansdog would be in their path. A whimper came from the young female, frantic as her feet moved about in accordance of her fear.

"Please don't make this harder than it has to be." Cain said.

Setsu shot him a direct but defiant glare. "You won't take me! I won't go back!" Setsu growled in matching of her defiance. Doing this only provoked the clan dogs as they moved in.

Cain's stare remained all the more cold as he stared down the young one. Setsu was a sheltered creature; she had never seen much of the outside world. Such was the way of "Container". The "Container" was the precious jewel of the Clan and would lead it to glory. At least that was the goal. So many had died to obtain this role, as Setsu had obviously figured out. Ever since she was weaned from her mother, Setsu had been spoiled and lavished in splendor living better than most at her age. It must have been a sudden blow to her tremendous ego to learn that she wasn't unique in her standing.

"Just what is the Container, really?" Setsu's question spontaneously emerged.

Cain reacted with a look of shock.

Setsu said nothing and continued to glare.

Cain's coldness melted just for a moment right before he spoke again. "Please Setsu, I don't want to harm you." For a brief moment, Cain's voice dripped with a hint of sincerity. For Setsu it appeared to be nothing more than a front, but she didn't realize that it was real.

"Never!" Setsu spat out.

That outburst spurred the Clan dogs to move in. Setsu tried not to show fear, but her body lowered into a frightened position. Her eyes rolled around in her head continuously looking for an escape. It was met with the same success as before; there was no way out. Either she went back by choice, or she went back by force. At this point the latter seemed the more likely outcome. The Container, she had no idea what it truly was, she never did nor did she question it. Ill suspicion had set in, but still held its mystery to her. Latter be damned, she wouldn't go with them!

Suddenly she felt a chill. Her breath appeared in a cold air in front of her.

Was there one near here? Her neck fur stood up on end. Something stirred all around them. The Clan dogs couldn't see it or sense it. It wasn't tangible to them. The fear the controlled her body began to dissipate. Her determination became like the sun drying up the reservoirs of fear. Her legs stretched back up creaking as they did. The muscles in her body tightened up as she prepared herself.

The other clan dogs noticed her changed demeanor and wondered why the sudden loss of fear? Cain held the most curiosity out of all of them. The fear and panic was gone, that much he could see; it should be easy but something didn't seem right. Cain looked right into her eyes and could see something bubbling within. Setsu's body remained frozen; not even a flinch or a hair out of place.

"I'm not going back." She said ,almost at a whisper.

Cain grew confused at that statement. The other clan dogs laughed at the female's bold display. All except Alucard, who kept his silent demeanor.

"I'll bring er in." One of the dogs, a mutt, strode up to her casually; a confident smirk plastered upon his face. "All right little bitch, just come on and we won't have any trouble." the guard's smirk remained as he closed in. Setsu still didn't move; she seemed so calm.

Cain kept his gaze upon her, hoping to intimidate her with his superior position. It didn't work. Setsu merely stared back at her fellow clan dog. Oddly, Cain found himself the one being intimidated. Setsu's body shifted as a smirk cross her face. Cain knew what it meant. Alucard could as well. Slowly the black furred dog stepped backwards away from the circle.

"Stay away from her!" Cain shouted a warning. The clan dog didn't even phase, nor at the female's smirk.

A second move followed. This time Setsu's body flinched. Her neck snapped backwards with a sickening crunch, yet it still appeared to be intact as it snapped back into place. With a lurch it fell forward along with the rest of her lower body and then right back into her original position. Her eyes stared back at the clan dog; it was cold and lifeless, not a drop of light reflected.

"What was that?" The clan mutt asked. "Trying to freak me out little lady?" He chuckled. His companions joined in.

"I told you to get away!" Cain ordered.

The dog looked back. "What are you talking about she–"

Setsu lunged forward, and opening her mouth wide, she bit hard into his throat. A gurgle sprang up from the blood that flowed outward. The dog looked shocked for a moment but it ended as soon as his life did. With eyes rolling back into his head, he fell to the ground with a thud. The rest of the dogs stood dumbfounded, too shocked at seeing their comrade fall to such a lowly female. Cain nearly shouted another order before Setsu leapt again, this time going for one of the other dogs.

That dog fell in the same manner with blood gushing out, spraying Setsu in crimson rain. At that point the other dogs rushed in to attack. Several of them piled atop Setsu hoping to use their superior size to overwhelm her. For a moment it worked as Setsu fell under the weight of the combined mob. Cain himself could feel comfort for just a moment. It didn't last. Without warning, the dogs were thrown off as an inhuman roar echoed out from underneath. The only one who wasn't present was Alucard. Cain couldn't see his familiar black shape amongst the throng.

Setsu stood tall and without any form of tire in her body; she seemed perfectly fine. But she couldn't be. That was on the minds of everyone. They didn't have time to say it as Setsu was quick to attack. Cain could only watch as Setsu tore through the dogs as if they were nothing. Some pleaded for mercy while others stood bravely. It didn't matter, for the female had become a rage filled monster. While the others were dumbfounded as to what was going on, Cain knew exactly what was happening.

"What kind of spirit did she channel?" He asked himself.

This was the first time he had seen a spirit channeling. Cain had heard of this ability amongst those of the Clan. There were few who possessed the ability or simply Cain had not witnessed one happen in his life. Cain was snapped out of these thoughts as he felt the hard impact of Setsu's body ram into him. Despite the small frame of the Container, Cain flew back farther than he should have. Tumbling to the ground, he felt his bones ache as they were pushed.

When he stopped rolling he found himself upon his belly. Scratches had formed underneath his fur stinging him; some started to bleed. Setsu loomed in front of him growling deeply. Cain's vision began to blur in and out of focus. When he stared at the advancing form of Setsu, he thought he could see something. For a moment, he saw an aura around surrounding the dog. It was the spectral image of a bear. The image quickly faded out, leaving only Setsu.

XXX

Setsu growled again as the vision faded from Cain's eyesight. Bloodlust had yet to be sated within her. Death gnawed at her, wanting to her to give into its desires.

_Kill...tear._

The growl in her mind commanded.

_Must...avenge._

Yes, vengeance on the canines.

_Ohu...die._

She stopped. Her neck snapped backward again. The voice inside spoke to her. The canine before her looked so familiar. Who was he? She sniffed, filling her with his scent.

_Not...Ohu...OHU!_

This dog wasn't Ohu. Ohu was where she needed to go. All of a sudden she saw flashes in her mind. Paths, trails, scents, trees, it was all coming at once. The images were powerful running faster into a mixture. Setsu rolled her head with a growl accompanying each creak of the neck.

"Ohu!" Setsu blurted out. Behind her voice was an echo, a deep tone overlapping her own.

Craning her head around to her left, Setsu darted off in that direction. Cain could only sit and watch as her form disappeared into the trees. He scanned the area, a few wounds in his neck only causing him the slightest of pain. They were all dead; Setsu had killed everyone. None were spared in her rampage, their bodies strewn about in a disgusting display of blood and entrails.

Their stomachs were torn open spilling digestive juices and various pieces of meat. Others had their heads caved in, exposing the brains underneath their skulls. Rage was behind these mutilations. The canine had done this all after she had killed them. Whatever she had channeled emanated hatred. Cain could feel its lingering presence even now. The hatred spread its trail across the forest. Whoever was in her path, Setsu would more than likely kill them.

"S-set-setsu." Cain managed to croak. Turning away from his fallen comrades, he limped towards the direction Setsu had gone. The Grandmaster had given him orders and he would follow them; even at the cost of his life.

"Cain!"

Cain fell when he heard the voice. That and from the strain of hauling his weakened body. A shadow loomed over him, its color matching the fur of who it belonged to. Cain saw the ground getting smaller as he was brought to his feet.

"You show yourself now Alucard?" Cain asked in a slight bitter tone.

Alucard didn't reply. "I saw what she could so, I felt her bloodlust. I didn't want to commit suicide," he admitted.

Cain grunted. It may have seemed like cowardice to some, but what the dog did was smart. Only a fool would rush into that fray. But then here he was, about to go after their currently filled Container.

"Come on. Let's go after her," Alucard urged to his companion. He knew the orders they were given, even if they currently had become a suicide mission.

XXXX

Mayu settled down in her grass patch, shifting her legs so that the tickly stalks would be bent away from her belly. She kneaded her claws into the ground, watching the pups sleep in a dazed and thrown-out heap a short distance away. The afternoon sun had fallen slightly from the sky, and the heat from before had died down, though just enough to allow laying outside of one's home.

She was outside her and Bat's den, watching the pups sleep while the sun sank into her whitish pelt. Bat had currently retreated away from the sun, disliking how the heat attacked his thick and darkened fur, and was resting in the den at the moment. For once, all was quiet, excluding the soft birdcalls in the woods and more distant yelps and barks of the Ohu soldiers.

Mayu lazily closed her eyes for a few moments, letting her other senses feel the pulse of the calm spring weather around them. The faint but cooler wind brought smells of flowers and growing leaves in it, but no promise of rain, making the perfume of the plants almost sickly sweet. Before she'd had her family, and after the loss of Mao and Alucard, Mayu would have probably kept her nose raised to the air and self on guard, concerned about a possible coming storm that would bowl in after the calm. Now, however, she could finally feel the peace underneath the weather, and Mayu let herself relax and rest. There would be no storm– not now, or later. And if there was, then she would just crawl under shelter with Bat and their pups.

Behind her in the den, Mayu could hear Bat begin to shuffle around, sitting up. When she continued to lay in the sun, not hearing him coming any closer, Mayu had to cock one of her ears and open one of her eyes to take a peek at what he was doing. Even peering from the corner of her eye, she couldn't see him moving any. Bat was just sitting still, muzzle tilted up slightly, in one of his moments where the crossed scars over his face almost looked like eerie substitute eyes, covering for the pale orbs underneath sliced lids that would never fully open again. Mayu paused, looking at him for a little longer before flicking her eyes back to the front and watching the cubs slumber again.

All the same, she didn't close them again, opening her eyes further. Bat was obviously deep in thought about something, but there was an undercurrent of movement in his still body and stiller eyes. Mayu could tell he was going to do something after the thoughts were over, though she wasn't sure what. The Labrador could still remain cold and unreadable at times, body and face taking on an emotionless mask not even Mayu could see through. It had cracked slightly over the dissolving of Hougen's reign, but not all of it could blamed on the influence of Hougen or humans, or even the many years spent wandering and honing his blind-eye skills. Bat was just a withdrawn and controlled dog sometimes. It was in his nature.

Mayu decided to wait where she was, returning her attention to the scent-sodden air and moving her tangled stringy tail so that curved behind her legs. She didn't have to wait too much longer, hearing quiet footsteps approaching behind her as she watched Wing slumber, snoring as his head drooped over Kuro's back.

The saluki flicked her ears back, not even turning around as Bat sat down next to her, moved into the sun at last.

"Hello, Bat," Mayu said, voice almost lazy in the summer heat. She adjusted herself, spreading her body out more over the ground, grass bending underneath her and brushing against her fur. Bat ignored the silent invitation to lie down, still remaining sitting up. Mayu thought nothing of it, pausing to see if he would respond to her, but when he didn't, she went back to watching their pups sleep. Kuro was underneath Wing's chin, propping his older brother's head up and being covered by his fringy hanging ears, and Mina was collapsed near Wing, little pink belly upturned towards the sun, twisted and stretched out like she had nothing better to do than own the world.

There was another brief stretch of silence, Bat remaining still as they both watched their cubs, one parent with their eyes and the other with their senses. Bat finally shifted as a fly sped through the air, buzzing along before it disappeared into the forest. He turned his head to look at Mayu, whom was currently basking in the sun again, ruffled fur glowing the light. Bat didn't need eyes to tell she was relaxing, her strict guard lowered for once. He almost felt guilty for tearing her out of it.

Bat gave his head a small shake, moving it to face down at Mayu. She perked her ears, seeing him preparing to say something. Bat usually didn't move his face to talk to others. He couldn't see them or hold their eyes; it was useless. Moving his head was an action born sheer of politeness.

"Mayu, we need to talk," Bat said. Mayu arched an eyebrow at him as he refused to come down to her level, still sitting upright and stiff, but she pushed it away, settling herself down further and tilting her head at him.

"About what?" she asked. "Wing again? I swear, if he's been harassing Hiro again–"

"No, it's not about Wing," Bat said, hearing the casual, not-even-near-anger in Mayu's voice. The sun had dulled her, though she was rapidly shaking off its warmed feeling at the odd tone in his voice. "Rather, about Mina."

At that point, Mayu's face took on another expression entirely, and seeing Bat's point-blank seriousness, and she began to get to her feet. "What about Mina?" she asked, voice sharper than it had been with the mention of Wing. Bat didn't know if it was from her waking up, or something else entirely.

Bat flicked one of his ears, listening to the buzz of an insect behind him before cocking them forward, completely focused on Mayu. "I know your intention is to toughen her and give her the ability to survive," he began, feeling Mayu start at the unusual turn their conversation was taking, "especially in a place like this– where you are… _outnumbered…_– but I think you're being too harsh with her."

"'Harsh'?" Mayu said, straightening up, surprise in her voice. "Bat, she's over four months; she can learn how to hunt and feed herself already, or at least get her skills together. I know you like pampering her, but…" Mayu gave her a head a small shake.

"This has nothing to do with pampering," Bat said, feeling a stab of annoyance inside him. He did love and spoil his daughter, more than Wing and Kin, admittedly, but this had nothing to do with it. The sad suspicions he'd been having were validated. "You practically radiated it at Reika's; you're being unfair to her–"

"How?" Mayu asked, voice a little sharper, surprised and annoyed that Reika had come into the conversation. She bore no ill feelings towards the sweet reddish akita, but hardly considered her one to turn to for advice with raising a daughter. Hearing Bat mention Mina and Reika in the same sentence made an instinctive protest arise in her. "Bat, please–" Mayu took a deep breath through her nose as she continued talking, struggling to push down the impulsiveness in her that would make things more difficult.

"I know Mina has issues with the training sometimes, but she _needs_ to go through it," Mayu said, the last hints of any sun drowsiness in her leaving. Bat watched her, currently holding his tongue. "Ohu is a paradise, but it's no reason to not prepare her early– it's an army too. And not just one." Mayu tilted her head up, giving it a rough shake and beginning to get to her feet. "Out of all the soldiers you've sensed around you, Bat, can you name more than two female ones? And I mean _legitimate _ones, not just soldier mates like Reika is," Mayu added, seeing the name already forming on his mouth.

"I could," Bat said calmly, but wisely refused to say the first name that had come to his head, particularly with Mayu on guard as she was. "You being one of them, and, despite how she looks and acts, Reika can fight when she needs to. Do you know she almost drowned Hougen in the war?"

Mayu blinked in surprise, ears perking up. "Really?" Bat could hear the disbelief in her voice at Reika, friendly, chattering Reika, doing anything particularly violent at all besides snapping a rabbit's neck. The akita's personality was as warm as her fur color, the soft red blending into her cream underbelly, and it seemed as if she was there to complement Hiro's blunt language and mammoth battle-worn pelt. Mayu had heard enough about Hougen from various soldiers around the camp to be surprised at the fact that the war had almost ended long before Weed had split open the great dane's skull, and a vengeful other force had disposed of him completely.

"Yes. She baited him and played to his weakness before she threw herself– and him– into the nearby river." Bat's crossed eye lids twitched slightly. "It was a miracle she didn't drown… I don't recall Hiro or Mel being too happy with having to sit on the sidelines."

"Not as if you cared too much at the time," Mayu said wryly, flicking one of her ears back. Bat had to give a quiet snort as they were both momentarily distracted from the subject, silently appreciating the truth of her words. He'd told Mayu everything about his origins from Ohu, or rather, from the opposite army who'd been trying to kill them for several long bloody months. She had been surprisingly calm and accepting, despite the carnage that had been left behind and the actions of Hougen's army.

"Still," Mayu said, breaking through the brief silence, "even if Reika is a soldier, it doesn't change that there aren't that many females here, period, and Mina has to be ready to face her other– _male_– companions with just as much strength as they have. And since so many of them seem uneager to train a female when she reaches the right age, I have to try and prepare her before the time comes, so that she actually has a chance in Hell to show them otherwise," Mayu finished fiercely, and Bat could hear the determination– and undertone of love– in her voice for Mina. Whether or not their daughter could hear it when she needed to, however, was another story entirely…

"Mayu, if you're trying to prepare her for the future, why not Wing and Kuro?" Bat shot back, hearing the softly in-tune breathing of the three pups nearby, one's little heart pattering along a beat or two faster than the others. Kuro. "They need preparation as much as Mina does, perhaps more."

"I _am_ training them," Mayu retorted, the tiniest of repressed growls entering her voice, back stiffening slightly, "and no different from Mina– she just gets a little more, since they'll be accepted by any of the other soldiers here for training the instant they become of age."

"Mayu, you're working Mina raw," Bat said sharply, being uncharacteristically blunt. At this point, he didn't know who was the blinder– him or his well-intentioned and tough-love mate. "I haven't seen Wing and Kuro out on their own hunting trips yet, or any compliments towards them being bitten back at the last second–"

"Are you saying I'm not proud of Mina?" Mayu barked, cutting in and sitting straight up. Bat could hear her paws scrabbling over the grassy ground as she jumped to her own impulsive conclusion, and a little too quickly. "She's done fantastic, _is_ fantastic; just because I don't lavish her with pats all the time doesn't mean I don't feel the same way you do–"

"I know that's not it, Mayu," Bat said, voice slightly colder as his own temper and fur beginning to rise slightly, "but why can't you _tell_ her that? You're so obsessed with leveling her out with the 'other males' that you're becoming hypocritical, and she's convinced you love Wing or Kuro more than her. I meant to imply nothing else," he added coolly at the end, tone flattening out to the calm and aloof voice he'd used as a traveling fighter and commander in Hougen's army. When Bat became angry, he didn't explode like Mayu did. He seemingly became calmer and more disjointed from the reality outside his slit eyelids, hackles prickling ever so slightly.

Seeing Bat's rising anger at her thoughtless comment, Mayu forcefully bit her teeth, trying to rein in her impulsive tongue and the scrambled thoughts about what she was hearing. "I know you weren't," she ground out, trying to fit some more understanding softness in her voice, but having a difficult time doing so, "but _hypocrisy?_ Explain, Bat. PLEASE." Mayu said, the rough please grinding up and falling from her throat like a brick when combined with her anger.

She hadn't meant to anger Bat, but– her? Working Mina _raw?_ What the hell was he thinking? That wasn't 'working Mina raw'; being worked raw was when you had your back split open by a sonovabitch border collie and had to contort like a snake with all the other worthless meat sacks on legs to please him. Mina, Kuro, and Wing were protected from that; Mayu wasn't forcing _any _of them beyond their limits, and she wouldn't allow anyone to do it over her own dead body.

Bat could hear Mayu's attempt to recant her earlier words and stab that had made him angry, but the sound of slumbering Mina's breathing harmoniously mixed in with those of Wing and Kuro reminded him of what had to be said. "You're trying to train her to compensate for what others'll think of her for her gender– fine. I understand that," Bat said, hackles slowly lowering as he tried to tell Mayu what he was thinking.

"But you've started to do their reverse– instead of believing she's going to be a weak and worthless scrap because Mina is a _she_, you're forcefully telling her she has to be so much stronger and give you more effort than her brothers solely _because _she's female, not because she's _Mina._ Taking it to the opposite of extreme of what you hate so much," Bat said quietly, knowing Mayu's ears were cocked and listening to him in stunned, stubborn disbelief. He tried to keep his voice quiet and gentle to make her understand better. "Becoming a variation of what you loathe in her eyes, Mayu, and it's hurting her."

"What? NO, it's nothing like that–" Mayu protested, trying to sound indignant at what he was implying– what he'd flat out just _said_– but Bat could hear the slowly advancing and hollow pain in her voice. Her internal stubbornness and denial would only get her so far, and she knew it. "My training Mina is _nothing_ like the discrimination she's going to get later…" Mayu's words faded, the attempt at adding her usual fieriness dying. "It's not as if– goddamnit, I give up. Bat, is– is that what I'm really doing to her?" Mayu asked, usually firm tone gaining a quaver. Bat felt a tiny waft air trail over his fur, bringing more of the condensed scent of flowers.

"You weren't trying to–"

"I'm not asking you what know I wasn't trying to do; I'm asking you what I actually fucked up and _did_," Mayu said sharply, cutting Bat off. He could hear the razor wire of anger in her voice, but not directed towards him: unforgiving to herself. Mayu leaned towards Bat, and he could feel her craning closer, her searing stare cutting pressing against his face.

"Well, unintentionally, but– yes." Bat said flatly, unable to keep going with the extra lace trimmings on his words. It would have only made things for Mayu worse, and if she'd so easily accepted what he'd told her about Mina, then it meant she'd been suspecting herself of doing something similar to begin with, even if only subconsciously.

There was a brief moment of quiet as Mayu tried to get her words together, and Bat could hear their pups all breathing together in their squashed heap, a faint snore escaping from them now and then. A bee buzzed over their heads, heading on to the fragrant flowers. Bat heard something like a ragged snort and sigh come of Mayu's mouth, breaking the uncomfortable calm again.

"Why didn't you tell me what I doing earlier?" Mayu asked, a small rasp in her voice. Her stringy ears flicked back and drooped.

"It's never been this way before," Bat admitted, turning his head in an attempt to look at the place Mayu's eyes would be. In the perpetual dark of blindness, he wasn't quite sure where. "You've always been harder on her than Wing and Kuro, but until we came to Ohu, she didn't think much of it."

"Did she talk to you about it?" Mayu said, feeling something sink inside her. Her own daughter, withholding important things from her, all because she found herself unable to talk to her mother. Mayu suddenly felt like Lazarus, bitterly reminded of the cruel collie and his mane of fluffy fur, which seemed like a spiteful joke– it was nothing like his personality. His own daughters had barely been treated above the other puppies, and Mayu had seen him turn them away more than once, silencing them before they even got the time to speak. She hadn't thought any of it while she was in the Clan.

"No, but I can tell," Bat said, ears cocking. Mayu didn't doubt his claim. He listened to Mina's little chattering on a daily basis… and far more than she did. Mina had a recent tendency to quiet down around Mayu, as if she was watching her words. Like she was worried about letting something 'weak' slip. Mayu felt furious and nauseated with herself.

Hating what she had discovered, Mayu closed her eyes, trying to get her scrambled thoughts in line. First Cross, then George and Ken, now _this–_ it was as if hell itself just couldn't leave her and family relations alone.

Sensing her inner turmoil, Bat leaned forward, touching his nose to Mayu's shoulder. He didn't attempt to go any closer or become sappy to comfort her, knowing she liked to hold herself up, and adding gilded and sappy sweet words to everything would just the split the wound open further, not close it.

Mayu quietly moved her own muzzle, setting it on top of Bat's. He could feel the short puffs of air coming from her nose, rolling over his snout.

"Bat, how the hell am I going to talk to her?" she asked, much lower and softer than Bat had heard her in a long time– not to mention rawer.

Bat tilted his muzzle up, moving his nose further up into her fur. "Just try to get her alone somewhere and do it," he said. "Explain yourself to her. That's all you can do."

Nearby, the steady little heartbeats of the pups continued, uninterrupted and blissfully unaware. Mina sleepily yawned.

XXXX

_Ohu._

The wavering images and words throbbed through her head again, feeling as if they were going to split her skull open. She gurgled on the sludge and drool slowly dripping out of her mouth, taking another mechanical step forward.

_Ohu._

Setsu could no longer feel her eyes, her lids fluttering up and down every now and then when something remotely like sensation hit them. It was eaten away within seconds of seconds, belly and innards slowly heaving forward and feeling ready to burst from her skin like rotting stones inside. They went back with another one of the heaving breathes that seemed to belong to the world, not to her. The word 'her' did not apply to it anymore. 'Her' meant gender and an identity. Setsu had a garbled, searing mess of neither.

_Gajou._

The dog continued her labored panting, driving herself further. A briar tore at her leg, and she ignored it, leaving a subdued blood drop to begin forming through her short fur. Setsu plowed forward through the trees and bushes, head down and swaying unnaturally, thick ropes of drool slipping and pouring from her mouth to the ground and snagging plants below. Some of it looked and smelled more like black sludge and decayed bear flesh then saliva. Setsu couldn't tell whether that was true or if the nose on the face that belonged to someone not her was betraying them. Both her and the feral thing locked together in the body, melting and oozing their burnt flesh into each other. Becoming one.

_Gajou._

Setsu crushed a tuft of grass under the foot, ignoring the obvious trail of body fluids and disturbed vegetation left behind them. The dog had been walking for three days straight without food nor water, feeling them to be poisonous. They were distractions. They made the trip to Ohu slower; kept she and the no-eyed phantom smoke and sludge with a red fur crest from ripping apart the dogs and human that had destroyed her. Setsu gave a small snort, unblinking eyes twitching, filmed over with exhaustion and another ethereal layer.

The front leg took another stride forward. Normally, Setsu's limbs would've wobbled and caved in long ago due to stress and pain. They had no food to fuel them. Right now, however, they were taking one step after another, quivering flesh held on to cores of solid steel. They would not crumple until everyone at the rock palace of Gajou and Ohu was dead, and the red-furred and silver-furred dogs that had ripped and torn were dead, entrails ripped from their stomachs; old scars reopened and flesh devoured.

_Kill._

More drool splattered onto the ground as Setsu staggered over another patch of grass, briefly shining and dripping from the petals of the flower it had landed on. The dog's raspy breathing became deeper and more strained for a moment, trying to inhale for a chest and body a thousand times its size. For a few moments, distorted black smoke played at the edges of her mouth, curling over her gums and slithering over her muzzle, but then it was gone, and only Setsu was doggedly trudging on ahead.

_Kill._

Everything would be theirs again; the corpses of humans and dogs to feed on, the necks to twist and snap, the stretching territory that had once belonged to them and them alone. None of it would ever be taken again. Not after they were crushed and ripped apart in her mighty jaws and paws; not after they reared and broke their spines with a roar of triumph and slap of the brace of claws and toughened skin.

_KILL._

Setsu growled in demented pleasure, briefly choking on her own dry throat and salivating tongue. She gave a few hacking coughs, doubling up, before continuing to march on.

Only two more days to Ohu.

XXXX

Cross had a lot on her mind. It was so much, it had halted her walk and turned it into a sit down. Currently she lay sprawled upon the grass, taking in the sun against her silky fur. A few bugs tangled in her fur which had grown with age. Oh how she remembered her younger days; remembered and missed them. To relive those days would be a private dream. In her mind she remembered all of the battles, the trials she had worn. Everything had led to this moment. She was thankful for her life.

A mate, children, a real family– what more could she ask for? Ken, George, Miney; their birth was forever etched in her mind. Feeling each little push, each yelp, and lastly their suckling at her teats. At that time, she had felt true happiness, something she hadn't felt in such a long time, not since that day; the day Sawada left her to die. There had been a blessing in that, for had it never happened, she would have never met Ben, nor started her family; her second family that is. Although she had tried to forget her first, she could never do that. Even when she was happy with her current one, she could never forget her first litter.

But there was a clear separation between them. Her second was made out of true love, while her first simple instinct. As much as she hated to admit it, she had never loved her "few hour" mate. He was simply there to fulfill his breeding duties, nothing more. Mayu; oh how she wished she could talk to her, but it was doubtful the female would allow her to even get close.

Cross wanted to cry but couldn't. She was dried out. Contemplation of what to do ached her old bones. Stay or move, it wasn't important either way as her thoughts had free reign over her.

"Come on! Get out!"

Cross looked up at the sound of a tiny voice. Her thoughts were pushed away by the movement of her body. Old bones creaked as she strained with a grunt. Another sound followed it, sniffling. From the volume and pitch of the voice, it was a pup. One of Reika's perhaps? No, it wasn't. Somehow Cross knew that it wasn't. But, the only other pups that were around were...

"Please get out!" The pup pleaded. A small black labrador pup, one with a white underbelly, was biting at her paw. Cross silently observed the pup, taking in her features. She had heard that voice before, long ago. Although it came from a different pup; her daughter. However, this puppy wasn't her daughter. Could fate really have planned this? Such a meeting couldn't have been a mere coincidence, could it?

"H-h-hello?" Cross managed to speak out.

The pup looked up from her sniffling and gasped when she noticed the female before her.

The pup backed away uncertain and slightly afraid of the stranger before her. Cross observed likewise noticing that the pup was holding up her right paw, avoiding the ground entirely.

"Hello miss!" The pup squeaked out, clearly nervous but maintaining a respect for her elders.

Awkward silence followed between the two. Neither knew what to say to the other. But what else could they do?

"Is there something wrong with your paw?" Cross broke the ice, asking the question.

The pup didn't know what else to say besides showing respect for the older dog. "Um no. I-i-it's fine," she said.

Cross wasn't convinced. She could tell when a child was lying, especially when Ken, George, and Miney were pups. "Dear, I can tell you're in pain. Please show me your paw."

The pup still kept a nervous glance towards the older dog, uncertain even.

"Please little one, I'm not going to hurt you." Cross spoke soothingly.

The pup's distrust towards her vanished upon those words. Holding out her right front paw, Cross walked toward it. Sticking in it was a small thorn. It was in deep, more than likely from the pup's attempts to remove it.

"Oh my, that's deep. Hold still." The pup obeyed as Cross gently bit into her paw. She felt a small tug bringing in a small shot of pain. It lasted for momentarily before subsiding completely.

"My paw!" The pup exclaimed in happiness. "Thank you old lady!"

Cross's eyes bugged out at the mention of the word 'old.' "Aheh my name is Cross little one. And you're welcome dear." Forgetting the comment, Cross smiled down at the pup. "What's your name?"

The pup had forgotten her uneasiness about the situation. "Mina, miss Cross." The pup bowed her head.

Mina, such a lovely name, Cross thought. "What are you doing out here all alone Mina? Where's your mother and father?" Cross held a hint of nervousness with the thought of the mother around.

Mina pawed at the ground when she heard mention of her parents. "Daddy is talking with some friends of his, my older brother is playing with his friend Kin, and my little brother is with Mommy," Mina answered.

Cross noticed some sort of lack of emotion when the mother was mentioned. However, there was plenty of it when the father was involved.

"So what are you doing here, Cross lady?" Mina innocently asked.

"Oh just taking a walk. Moving these old bones about." Cross answered with a chuckle, both at an admittance of her age and the title the child had bestowed upon her.

Mina curiously sniffed at Cross and as the old one was doing before, looking at her features. "You know lady? You kind of look like a grumpy mister I met."

"Grumpy mister?" Cross repeated. Immediately her mind went to George. No one else could be considered a 'grumpy mister,' especially in regards to appearance.

"That must have been my son. Don't mind him, he's actually sweet when you get to know him," said Cross.

Mina observed something else, a secondary feature. "You know, you look like my mommy too. Just like the grumpy mister."

Cross's mouth stood agape at that. "Well that's..." Cross wanted to say something, wanted to admit, but something was holding her back.

"Um, excuse me lady? Can I walk with you?" Mina suddenly asked.

Reaching her ears, the very question made Cross smile. "Certainly dear."

Mina had been taught not to speak with strangers. But seeing as they were both apart of Ohu, they were not really strangers to one another. There was another reason, something unspoken between the two females. Both could sense it and that alone was enough for them to walk together.

It was the first time grandmother and granddaughter spoke to one another.


	19. Chapter 19

Up in the near stagnant current of air, a thick and heavy heat curling around its wingtips, a crow smelled rotting flesh.

It paused in its flight, sleek black feathers only dimly rustled by the wind, and tilted its smooth beak, struggling to catch the smell of meat once more. Beady eyes blinked as a filament of the scent drifted through the heavy current again. There. It was no scavenger's wistful illusion, nor the result of a strong wind dragging the taunting string of a meal through the weighed summer air. The currents were not strong enough for that, the crow knew, peering over the leafy green treetops and needle-slick pines of the forest below. He was hovering right above them, the oasis of shade and the faint smell of food directly under his beak. It was fresh, with only a twinge of decay. The food had to be nearby.

Adjusting its wings, the crow lazily dived towards the leaf enshrouded branches, extending its blunt talons. Thin and scaled legs meant for hopping and walking over ground held steady to the maple tree limb, one leaf flopping unsteadily. A few of the thrushes and songbirds nearby began to screech and chatter furiously, a hint of wary menace and primitive hate entering their lilting voices. Crow, they told each other, carrying their warnings, crow. Eater of flesh and nestlings, picker of the bones besides the vultures.

The crow calmly ignored the warnings chittered around him. He set about leaping lower in the tree, fluttering from one branch to another now and then when the distance was too far to cover with a mere hop. He was not a lookout, nor was he in a murder with his fellows at the time. The nestlings of the thrushes and songbirds had already fled the twig and string cups their parents had built in the trees. There was nothing more to eat, and as far as the crow was concerned, eyeing the ribbon of softly gurgling water passing through a gently raised bank on the forest floor, he was going to try and feed himself with something more than skimpy offspring. Besides the sound of quietly eddying water and unnerved birds, the crow could sense something else.

Fluttering down from a lower branch and walking the slow, measured strut of a scavenger along the gentle stream bank, the crow spotted the facedown dog in the water.

It lay partway submerged, legs tucked under its body as if it was lying and waiting for something, but only its ears were sticking out from under the water's surface. There was no movement, or at least as far as the crow could see. Curious and hungry, it slowly came closer, tilting its head to better look at the source of the stench. There was no decayed bones or flesh, yet a smell of the foulest and most enticing and repelling rot hung over the possible corpse. The crow gave a raspy caw, eagerly extending its opened beak and fluttering over to the body, perching on its ribs. Dinner.

With barely a peck of its tugging beak, the wall of flesh heaved and wriggled underneath the crow's feet. Cawing in alarm, it roughly tumbled from the dog's back, taking off after a stumble.

Rising from the shallow brook, water streaming down her face, Setsu stood again, giving a few brief coughs and licking the droplets from around her mouth. Her ears flicked, getting rid of the excess liquid and cleaning their edges. Ignoring the raucous caws of protest from the crow as it flew away, Setsu adjusted herself on her feet, slowly backing away from the stream. Her throat had long stopped its cracking burn, and chunks of flesh floated in her stomach. A deer corpse further back, not quite picked clean, had feed her and given her new energy. Fuel for her trip.

Setsu licked the corners of her mouth, finished with the short break. The body might have wavered earlier, but now the body was ready to continue; going to continue. Their body. _Its_ body. Setsu began to suck in deep, shuddering breathes again, eyes taking on a sick glaze, some of the black ooze beginning to drip from her mouth again. Fangs stained with tinges of black streams softly jarred against each other, a few drops splattering on the ground.

_Ohu… Ohu… Ohu…_ Setsu and the thing wheezed together, mechanically turning down the stream bed and beginning to trudge away, legs not quavering as much as before, but still shaking. The black tendrils that had rested from squeezing out and threading through her muscles and conscious began to reach forward again, searing a dead soul and old rotted body into hers, sewing their fates and wills together once more. The songbirds and sparrows began to cry out with new warnings, the crow now among them, peering down from a far up branch, hoarse voice in chorus with them.

The legs and senses quivered in excitement, Setsu gave a brief spasm, tired eyes widening and more sour drool dripping down in one slippery line. The familiar and ancient smell of old territory had reached their noses a long way back, reminding them of chasing deer and dogs and feasting on their bodies, sating their thirst and leaving thin ribbons of blood behind their muzzles in the current. Pain had arched through the belly– perhaps Setsu's belly, not the others', since it could feel nothing but rage– and it had made them seek out old territory water and the smell of meat to stifle the other hunger.

Now, the old scent was returning of ground once owned by their curved sickle claws, and which had been stolen by the mass of howling, barking, mutts and humans that had no right to it; the scar-faced man with the shotgun in his hatred weathered hands, the silver furred akita who bore scars of another's claws across his head, the stinking red and bridle-striped pelt that had ripped free their other eye and blinded them once and for all. Hatred and excitement trembled and rippled through their body, Setsu gurgling and snarling, fur standing upright. There were close, so close, to what they wanted, to where they would fight once more–

Setsu and her wayward soul continued to trudge down the side of the stream bank, sanity in tatters.

XXXX

The grasshopper silently perched on the blade of grass, nibbling away at the filaments and putting them away into its gnawing mouth. Mina could see its antennae twitching and little clawed arms helping to shove the green leaf in. She decided it looked like Wing.

The little pup resisted the quiet urge to roll over in the fresh patch of grass she was sitting in and roll around, to scratch her back and be able to feel all of the tickly leaves pressing up against her fur. It would have made her feel a little less nervous about being there. Mina dismissed the thought, shaking her head slightly and scratching the back of her ear. Rolling over was not a good idea right now, especially since she was kind of trying to hide.

No, not _hiding,_ Mina thought, frowning slightly and lowering her ears in the patch of grass she was crouched in. Hiding was what Wing did whenever mom caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to, and when Kuro heard a stray noise or two outside the den and fled to the very back, hunkering down. She was just being _discreet_, that was all, the pup thought, remembering Mrs. Reika using that word. Mina picked a grass strand from her paw, fleaing her leg with a careful clip of her sharp teeth. She kept her head from bobbing up and down too swiftly, the grass remaining still and more natural. The swaying green curtain curled and bent around her. Mina blinked as one of the blades ticked her eye, and the quiet and lazy talking around her went on without pause.

Despite the fact that she was well-covered by the patch of grass, and that she knew none of the lazy and relaxed adults in the distance wouldn't do anything if they heard or found her, Mina couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Her mother had nuzzled her ear earlier, quietly giving her bath with little to no admonitions, and then hadn't taken her out on the hunting trip she'd said she would earlier. Instead, Mayu had brought back a few squirrels with Bat– far more subdued than usual– and fed all of them with an odd, shallow cheer.

While Mina had been eating, Mayu had nosed the back of her head and said she wanted to talk to her about something later. Mina had crunched down the rest of the squirrel leg, ignoring the squealing Kuro nearby as Wing pounced on him, both of them tugging and growling for a ragged scrap of tail.

'Alright, mom,' she'd said, just a little surprised, though not too much. Mom was always having talks with her that she didn't with Wing or Kuro. Mom was always training her and going hunting with her when Wing and Kuro were still chasing tufts of fur or dandelion puffs around the leaves. Mina found herself being… different. In a way.

It wasn't the way Mrs. Cross said she was different, either.

Mina twitched, resisting the urge to flea the back of her leg. Mrs. Cross would be here soon. They had talked yesterday– talked about a bunch of different things; like how to catch prey, how things got caught in stringy ears, and the way Wing and Kuro could be funny or just plain dumb. Mina found that she liked the old Saluki a lot, and her warmth was only increased by the fact that she was the same species Mayu was. It gave a tone of familiarity to everything, and with more soft and open moments than her mother normally showed.

She and Mrs. Cross had got along so well, Mina thought, that they'd agreed to met each other here after yesterday. The pup burrowed her nose into the ground, thinking she saw a bug skittering underneath a leaf. Mrs. Cross wasn't here yet. Mina had come a bit earlier than she'd asked her to, excited and nervous. She'd liked Mr. GB, and Kin and Tama's parents, but Mina had never spoken to anyone as old as Mrs. Cross before. It was much different than anything else she'd ever done.

Not that she told her mother or father. Only Mina knew she was here in the grass patch to meet someone, and not just to get away from Wing and Kuro for a while. Bat and Mayu trusted her enough to let her go out on her own around the camp, unlike the irresponsible Wing or shy and docile Kuro.

Lost in her thoughts, Mina didn't realize that soft, rustling footsteps were coming closer by the minute. When she caught a glimpse of white and fur and tangled stringy ears, she barely realized what was happening before a slender muzzle poked into the grass, barely an inch away.

"Mina, are you in there?"

Blinking in surprise, Mina held back a little yelp, staring down the end of Cross's nose. She hastily composed herself, only to get her foot caught in a loop of weeds, and came tumbling out the side of the grass patch. Cross moved back to keep the little pup from rolling over her footpaws, Mina embarrassedly clambering to her feet and shaking her fur off. The bees buzzing around them seemed to be laughing.

"Yes, Mrs. Cross, I'm here," Mina said, fur still fluffed and part of her face burning.

Cross gave a quiet chuckle at her obvious attempt to rebound into dignity, pup immediately trying to hold herself in a prideful and elegant manner. She didn't notice the blade of grass stuck in her ear, and if she did, she was playing it off coolly. A true mixture of her father and mother, alright. That prideful posture had to come from somewhere.

"I see," Cross said, amusement dancing in her eyes, but she said nothing about the grass. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," she apologized, Mina relaxing and looking up at her with an eager expression. "I had to go on a hunting trip with my family."

"Your family? You have pups?" Mina asked, instantly and unabashedly curious. Suddenly realizing that she both and looked and sounded like Wing, right down to the clueless and personal-space-disregarding lean forward, Mina hastily pulled herself back, clearing her throat and straightening up. "I mean, do you have pups, Mrs. Cross?" she said again, far more prim.

Cross flicked her ears back, tail sweeping underneath her leg. She kept her face composed, pretending to mull over the subject or watch the birds fluttering from tree to tree overhead. 'Family'… why had she slipped up and even mentioned the word? It had come out before she could stop it or pull her guard up; speaking to Mina was as natural and casual as spring air– completely unlike talking to her mother. Mayu, Bat, Mina's siblings… from the corner of her skyward turned eyes, Cross could see the pup getting slightly impatient at the delay, but still keeping it repressed. Damn, it truly did seem that all her female pups got her impatience.

Cross remembered a whining, frightened female as she stood in the middle of the river, floodwaters plunging around her cringing and whimpering body. _'George, help me! I can't get out!' _The cries had echoed over the river, an unscarred Saluki panicking and desperately trying to find a place to leap in after her. _'Hang on, Miney! I'm coming!' _If only she'd have waited for the river to go down before trying to swim across.

There was a soft cough next to her, and Cross was snapped out of her reverie, seeing Mina awkwardly clearing her throat nearby. When she realized that Cross was looking at her, the pup blinked before swiftly standing up in apology, coming closer.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cross, I just got pollen up my nose; I didn't want to disturb you–" Mina quickly amended, startled that she'd broken the old dog from her distant expression and clouded eyes. It was never good when adults went into that state. Her mother and father had both done it a few times– quiet and ominously silent– and whenever the pups brought it up or spoke loudly, they snapped out of it, like something had been holding them silent and bound to a thing they couldn't see. Both Bat and Mayu denied it ever happened when questioned about it. Then they always changed the subject to things like treats, Mina thought, and no one pursued the subject further.

"It's fine," Cross said, cutting off her apology. Mina quieted after a few more stuttered words, licking her nose and settling back down on her haunches. "And it's Cross. Not 'Mrs. Cross.' Alright?"

Mina blinked in surprise. "I– what? Are you sure, Mrs.–"

"I'm sure," Cross said firmly. Mina might've been family, but she wasn't going to overstep any bounds. She'd considered on impulse to ask her to call her 'Grandma Cross', then immediately reconsidered. Mina wouldn't be calling her anything above this familiarity until the link that tied them together as family was revived and no longer dead to her. She couldn't rub impudent salt in freshly reopened wounds.

"Alright… Cross," Mina said, the name tasting odd on her tongue without a respectful prefix. She'd never spoken to an adult like this before. "So," Mina continued, shaking the oddity off, "what do you wanna talk about?"

"Well," Cross said, speaking up over the background chatter of other nearby soldiers and the sounds of spring, "you did ask me about my family."

"Yeah, I did! But I'm sorry; if you don't want to talk about it it's fine–" Mina quickly added, not wanting to trigger another one of the distant remembrances in the old Saluki. "If you do, though–"

"My God, you're a sassy pup filled with apologies," Cross laughed, appreciating the contradiction. Mina gave a sheepish grin, but soon couldn't help but fully smile at the old dog's rough joviality. It reminded her a lot of mom whenever she was in a good mood.

"As for my family…" Cross said, turning her head to look at a flowering bush nearby. Pale pink flowers with spread open petals lined the clumps of green, soft splashes against the dark and glossy color. Though none of the dogs could appreciate the warm shades from their greyscale eyes, there were beautiful shades of grey, numbers exploding in the spring. Bees and wasps traipsed from one bud to another, crawling over the soft surface. Cross watched one descend into the belly of the flower.

"I have a mate and two sons," Cross said, Mina listening attentively, though the pup was also watching the bees move about with a childish fascination. "However, both of them are grown up—not quite as young as you."

Mina went through the rough calculations in her head, looking at Cross's greying fur and the faded spots underneath her eyes. "So you mean they're around the same age as my mom and dad? Just a little younger?" she asked.

Cross had to keep from sucking in a sharp breath of air. The pup was sharp—and quite fast about, too. The Saluki still kept her composition, watching the pollen laden bee skip to another flower. "Yes," she said. "Close to it." The bee buzzed away from the bush, heading off into the forest. "I used to have another pup, too."

_Damnit, Cross, what are you doing? _she asked herself.

"Really?" Mina said, tilting her head to the side. She'd noticed the 'used' instead of 'did.' Instead of giving off warning signals like it should've, it merely made her more curious. In one retrospect, she and Wing were quite alike.

"Oh, yes," Cross said, speaking slowly and carefully watching her words. "They were my first pup. I loved them half to death. But… things happened… and I had to leave them behind somewhere. It was a very bad thing, Mina, and I messed up. I made them very, very angry. They haven't spoken to me since."

"I—what?" Mina said, shocked by Cross's words. The pup leapt to her feet, fur bristling slightly. "But they can't do that; that's _stupid! _You can't just stop talking to someone forever because you get mad at them; if my mom did that, she'd talk to no one in the world!"

Cross felt something ripping in her belly at the pure irony in Mina's words, and the fierce look on the little pup's face as she stared up her, furious with the transgressions of the yet unnamed pup. She had a feeling that if she'd told her about Miney, the pup would have damn well sat down and grieved. For all the polite addresses and careful words, she basically wore her emotions like a collar, there for all to see.

"It's not that easy to judge," Cross said, watching the stubborn pup's brief blast of fury simmer down. "I didn't just make them angry– I hurt them. Adults… we do ridiculous things, Mina. Horrible things."

"Grown-ups don't make mistakes," Mina blurted out.

Cross raised an eyebrow at her. "Adults do make mistakes; much bigger and crueler ones than pups do," she shot back. "But because we're adults, it's supposed to be our job to control how much of those horrible things we do. And when I hurt them… they weren't an adult. I made a very selfish decision and mistake," Cross said, getting quieter, Mina feeling a little shiver at the tone in her voice. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know what the thing had been. "I burned them when they were young, and the wound never healed, even when they grew up. And when they did, they were already an adult, and making the same mistakes we all do."

Mina was silent for a moment, hesitating as she tried to find what she wanted to say. "But… it doesn't… _seem_ like adults make mistakes. They don't admit it, and it's not like pups, where you have to say sorry and everyone giggles because they know you messed up."

"Adults are silent about a lot of things, Mina," Cross said, giving her head a little shake to rid her ears of a fly buzzing around them, "both good and bad. We're used to not having to say anything about it– and sometimes, we just can't."

"Huh," Mina said, the pup looking away from Cross and back towards the trees. A soft spring zephyr moved the limbs, a leaf falling and slowly tumbling through the flower perfume heavy air.

Mina was going to say something else when she smelled the stench of rotting flesh.

XXXX

A strong stench hit Cross's nose. Old as she was, age hadn't dampened her sense of smell. She knew what rotting flesh smelt like. As a former hunting dog, she had smelt it many a time. The image of the body remained inside her. The flesh barely hanging off the bone, decomposed with flies and maggots making their home within their fleshy confine. The smell was growing closer, which was disturbing. Smells such as that shouldn't get closer, not when they were already dead. Only movement would make something grow closer.

A shrill scream from Mina alerted Cross. Before she knew it, her granddaughter was hugging against her leg. Instinctively, Cross's maternal instincts told put her in a protective stance. Her face leered forward in a growl, facing down whatever threatened them. Cross had expected something big, perhaps a bear. For some reason she felt that particular feeling she felt whenever a bear was near her. She had lived long enough to know when she encountered a bear.

This was no bear however.

Before Cross stood not a bear, but a dog. A female, barely out of her teens. The stench hung off her like a sickening aura. The canine's body limped and hung, its legs barely supporting its weight, despite the petite frame. Within the creature's eyes, nothing but pure bloodlust shone in its yellow eyes. The yellow appeared unnatural.

"Who is it Mrs. Cross?" Mina fearfully asked. So afraid was she that she lapsed back into the 'Mrs' prefix.

Cross ignored it. There wasn't any time for lack of formailities.

"Mina, stay behind me!" Cross ordered.

Mina listened well and got behind the elder dog.

"Just stay put and when I say run, run!"

Before Mina could ask, Cross leapt forward.

"Cross!"

Mina's words fell upon deaf ears as the old bitch bore her fangs upon her enemy. The rage she felt was one that had long been tempered, back when Mayu first made introductions. She had hid that anger after that, letting it lie low, partially out of guilt and frustration. The two dogs hit head on, biting and snarling as the two females fought. Like with her sense of smell, Cross's fighting skills hadn't been lessened. A splash of blood hit her eye, her's or the other's? She didn't know. The pain she felt made it almost impossible to know. Her stamina managed to keep up, even with her aged body, although she knew it wouldn't last forever. At some point, she would have to give and when she did...she wouldn't think about that. All she cared about was protecting Mina.

Poor Mina, at the corner of her eye, she could see the poor pup shivering in terror. She mentally kicked herself for telling her to stay put.

She should have told her to run from the get go.

Then she felt it, that familiar aura. She had felt it since the fight had began. It couldn't be, she told herself. But the more she fought, the stronger the scent got.

Cross couldn't place a paw on it.

"_Is it?_"

The young female snarled and leapt forward biting into Cross's side. Cross let out a cry as the teeth dug into her flesh. This only served to spur on Mina's fear.

"Mina, run!" Cross commanded.

Mina didn't dally upon her elder's request, she sped out of there as fast as her legs could carry her. But she wouldn't just run away.

Cross pushed the younger but stronger dog off. As the youngster regained her footing, An aura appeared over her momentarily. For a moment Cross caught a glance of it before it disappeared completely.

"Akakabuto?"

The demon bear grinned within his host body. He remembered every dog he had come across, and Cross was the one that had gotten away. He would make sure to finish the job this time.

XXX

"HELP!" Mina's cries echoed throughout the forest. "Someone! Anyone!" Tears began to stream down her face as she continued to shout her little throat out. Mrs. Cross was still back there, and she couldn't just leave here there, she needed help.

"Hey! Is anyone there?"

She couldn't see anyone. Not a single sign of fur was around. The Ohu soldiers from earlier in the day had left making sure there was no chance of anyone coming for help. Mina wouldn't give up however, not when Mrs. Cross was counting on her.

"Mina?"

A young voice reached Mina's ears. A familiar tone she had first heard when they first came to Ohu. The color blue hit Mina's eyes.

"You're Mayu's daughter right?" The voice asked again.

Mina looked up and noticed a teenage Akita standing before her.

"Mr. Weed!" Mina cried happily. Then she noticed something else; or rather someone else.

Standing next to Weed was a labrador, yellow furred and about the same age as Weed. Mina took a look at him and for some reason couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Uh Weed? Why is she staring at me?" Mel asked.

Hearing that, Mina turned away bashfully.

"Mina is there something wrong?" Weed asked.

Mina suddenly remembered, forgetting her previous embarrassment. "It's Cross! We were talking and then this dog just came and attacked her! She's really strong and Mrs Cross told me to run so I didandthenIranintoyoubutshe'sbackthereandshe'sinrealtroubleand-"

"Mina!" Weed shouted.

Mina shut herself up noticing she had started to blend her words together. "Mrs. Cross...is...in...trouble." She stated slowly.

Those words were enough.

XXXX

Cross didn't know how long she could hold on. The impossible had happened and currently she was fighting with someone whom she had thought dead. It must have been a trick upon her mind. Akakabuto was dead, but she could feel him coming off this dog. She could feel wounds opening up and blood streaming down. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle, but there were limits to how the body could hold out.

"B-B-Ben." She muttered.

Oh how she wanted her mate by her side right now. The strange canine was toying with her at this point. It was as if she was prolonging the pain.

"Cross!"

Cross's heart sprang up with hope as she heard an all too familiar voice called to her. The feral bitch atop Cross didn't know or seem to care about the voice. She cared the moment something hard and brown tackled her to the ground.

"Cross!"

"Mom!"

The second voice that called to her wasn't the same as the first, but the second one was closely familiar.

"Mom are you alright?" Another brown shape nudged at her.

Cross looked up to see a pair of concerned eyes. "Ken? George?"

A shape as white as her strode up and nudged her, helping her up as her legs shook from weakness; weakness that age only fueled to hinder her.

"Mom don't move." George spoke with concern.

Cross looked on to see a sight that sent her heart a flutter. Ben had his jaws clamped against the neck of the strange female. Gin and Jerome joined in, taking her on all sides.

"Dad be careful!" Gin called.

"Kick her ass Dad!" Ken joined in.

The three experienced soldiers, (well Jerome being not being exactly an Ohu veteran), fought well against the strange dog. Ben's blindness didn't hinder him at all; not when his mate was in danger. Memories of his youth flashed back as he took his opponent down. Cross and Gin were no strangers to Ben's strength, neither were Ken and George. They had been told of their father's strength, and seen examples during that incident with the wolves. It made them proud to be his sons.

The female growled, pushing off her attackers. Her eyes were ablaze with a feral light as she whirled her head around, facing down her attackers.

"Who are you!" Gin spoke with command best befitting the former leader of Ohu.

The dog said nothing, merely growled. It was then at that moment, they felt something, something evil and strong. Jerome felt it first, Gin and Ben were the first to feel it, the dark aura. It radiated to Jerome and although he didn't know what it was, he had a guess.

"It can't be." Ben muttered.

Gin stared long and hard at the female. Weed could see his father was vaguely perturbed, disturbed even. But why was the female the cause? In her wounded state, Cross, had an inkling to whom they were facing.

"Even in death his hatred is strong." The old canine muttered.

Gin attempted to deny it; something like this couldn't happen. But he put aside that notion.

"Akakabuto?" Gin spoke with shock and fear.

Upon the mention of his name, Akakabuto's host growled, as did the demon bear nestled within.

_Ohu...KILL!_

_Ohu...DIE!_

Just as the demon bear possessed dog was about to strike, there was a lurch. The dog's head jerked backward bobbing up and down like a turkey.

_Killl_

_No! Let me go!_

_Die Ohu...revenge!_

_I...said...let...me...GO!_

The last word was spoken aloud. A mixture between a growl and a feminine voice. But still, it sounded all the more beastly. The dog's body began to convulse and shake. Her head went back and forth as it attempted to wrest free from the control the bear had upon her body. A chocking sound garbled within her throat and her mouth began to foam. The power of this bond was great; though some bonds could be broken. Cracking noises and burst skin wracked the body. Setsu could bear the hatred of the demon bear for only so long. Raising her head, she let out a roar before collapsing to the ground.

Everyone stood silent for a moment, uncertain of whether the canine was still alive. After a few moment's of no movement, they had their answer.

"She's dead." Said Jerome.

Setsu's corpse was now a mess, her body torn in places showing exposed muscle and bone. Life was devoid in her eyes.

"Cross!" Ben leapt to his mate's side. "Are you okay?"

Cross smiled. "Yes Ben I'll be fine." The two lovers nuzzled one another, not afraid to show their love for each other.

"I suppose Akakabuto remembered me as the one who got away." Cross guessed as she felt the way the possessed dog stared at her.

"Wait. You mean that dog was Akakabuto?" Ken said in disbelief.

"Possessed by him, dumbass," George quipped.

Ken shot his brother a growl but paid it no mind afterwards.

Confusing as this was, they had survived and won. Why this transpired and to whom the other dog was remained a mystery. One thing was overlooked however. Two shapes had been watching the whole ordeal from the distance. Almost overlooked that is. Weed had noticed the pair slip away just in the instant they had decided to part, and he kept their shapes etched in his mind.

"What about Mina? Did you see her, is she safe?" Cross immediately asked with concern.

They didn't have to ask whom Mina was; they had their guess.

"We had Kagetora send her home," Gin answered.

Cross sighed with both relief and disappointment. She was relieved that Mina was safe, her dear sweet little Mina; but she was disappointed that she didn't have a chance to talk with her young granddaughter further. There were still questions about her two grandsons that she had.


	20. Chapter 20

There were few things more painful than clan stasis, not including permanent clan stasis. Permanent clan stasis was like the last shovel of dirt heaped over the grave. It was mostly applied once a dog of middle or low officer rank had gotten sent to the torture chamber– not too low to be let out of higher ranking custody, but not too high to be promptly dealt with– and after breathing in the underground hell for so many weeks, their cause was dropped. Perhaps it would either be let go out of sheer disinterest from the Grandmaster or Cain; sometimes it was the need to apply more clan workforce to other more important dogs or goals.

You knew you'd hit permanent stasis when most of your guards departed and left you in one of the little caves of the clan's home, forbidding you to leave. The dogs who saw it coming when they were apathetically shoved out of the torture den made sure to cherish every step they took in the sunlight and savored every last heaving breath. Once they got placed in one of those little caves, they weren't coming out. No one was executed in stasis. That would be a waste of the entire point.

They were just lazily guarded with the occasional meal and never saw the light of day again.

Alucard struggled not to growl at the thought, adjusting his front legs to lay out better. He could see a few weak beams of sun out creeping through the den's entrance, air leaking within bringing the smell of his two guards. Neither image nor smell was comforting. The Clan had stopped inhabiting the majority of the cave network when they headed up to the surface for permanent adjustment, but the dens didn't go unused.

And now, Alucard thought, after chasing Setsu across the mountains in a supposed-to-be suicidal mission, Cain had put him away in stasis the instant they got back. Ungrateful bastard. Alucard closed his red eyes and laid his head down, finding himself unsurprised.

He'd been forcing down the impulses to rip out Cain's throat and much, much worse the whole time he was traveling with him, especially when he thought of some familiar white fur and warm family scent, not to mention the hardheaded voice— Alucard forcefully unclenched his jaw and made his prickling fur lay down at the passing thought of Cain mixed up with that— so perhaps stasis was a good time to unwind the tension inside himself.

It took less than a second to realize that that wasn't going to happen.

Setsu was dead, the Grandmaster was furious, and all in all likelihood she was going to execute him and punish Cain after she'd got what she wanted out of him. Alucard let the thoughts pound over his head, struggling to keep down his bristling fur or any agitated swings of his tail. If the scent of fear began to leak off him, things could get worse. He didn't need the guard in here to see him. Alucard didn't show emotion, didn't show nervousness, not the blood-sucking tracker _Alucard._ Not even when he'd failed to track down the escaped Mayu and got his back laid open by Julia in punishment, a snarling Lazarus guiding her through just where to stab and bite him. He'd been grooming his more openly vicious daughter for the position of warden once he surpassed it, seeing he'd already gotten Maria to be a pup teacher.

She had much of her father in her… Alucard thought, perking his ears up and giving a half smile in a twisted mockery of real happiness. He'd gotten better at pretending. It had helped him keep a straight face during the tracking of Setsu, when the smell of rotting flesh had been crawling up his nose and Cain had been assessing him the whole time. The Grandmaster's favorite wasn't blind— at least, not quite as much as before. He'd had much of his hormonal impulses and childish arrogance beat out of him by the Grandmaster's sharp tongue and cold, false-sweet words.

Cain was still arrogant and slightly impulsive, but it was a more solid kind than that of before. He'd slipped around Alucard like the slithering of a snake whenever the two had taken a brief rest, moving about like his bone marrow was melting into every step. Mayu, Mao, and Alucard had been a fiercely close trio even to outsiders from the Clan, and Cain damn well remembered Alucard storming the torture den with Mao on the night of the first sacrifice selection. Alucard could tell by his slinking movements and significant glances that he half believed his red-eyed partner was going to tear out his throat and eat it while he slept.

To Cain's credit, he'd given it a thought. He'd been giving a lot of things a thought once Mao was killed and Mayu escaped. Not that the rest of the Clan was aware of it once he burst out of his cocoon of depression and anger a few weeks later, regaining full control of his mask.

Alucard sniffed, getting tired of holding the same position, but unwilling to roll over and make himself more vulnerable. He settled for sitting up, getting to his feet with a quiet scrambling of claws and shake of his head. The guard outside paused, speckled face glancing back at him with twitching ears, but resumed his stiff pose once he saw Alucard was doing nothing. The mix of cooler, more collected air from the cave and soft bursts of a warm breeze here and there filled Alucard's nose. It seemed to thread through his tangled fur and play around the rough rock inside of the den, skimming over worn-out quartz that hung from the ceiling in filthy stakes and encrusted the whole den in uneven sheets. Dirt separated the pieces of rock in cracked lines.

Alucard didn't get much more of a chance to reflect on his fate and how things had been holding together as a few footsteps echoed through the den, the dog outside sitting up straighter. Alucard tensed, watching the movement outside. Two giant akitas emerged from the side to block the light filtering into to Alucard's prison, their steps almost in unison.

The pair of siblings were almost identical, a female and a male only distinguishable by a few subtle face changes and the fact that they were both missing one ear on opposite sides. As a result, when the two stood next to each other with their fluffy coats almost brushing and faces hardened and grim, they seemed to melt into one giant creature with two ears perched on a broad and widened head. Alucard had seen them limping around the camp before he and the now dead patrol had gone to pursue Setsu, their ear stumps ragged and bloody. They'd been punished for something. Now, with their broad shoulders squared together and dark eyes fixing the guard in the place, ear wounds looking more scabbed and less raw than before, Alucard had no doubt they didn't intend to make another mistake like that again.

"We've come to retrieve the prisoner," the brother said bluntly, deep voice giving his identity away. "Grandmaster's orders."

"Understood," the guard said, stepping aside.

Alucard rose to his feet before the two siblings could step inside to retrieve him, walking out into the light. They observed him with cold eyes before pressing their sides lightly up aside him, one on each side. Alucard had no doubt that the akitas could slam their sides together to keep him pinned where he stood if they deigned so. He didn't intend on giving them that chance.

Flanked by the cautious guards, Alucard was led out from stasis into the light. The three immediately made a beeline for the very center of the Clan, disregarding all the rest of the buzzing and active clan members. A few passing glances were thrown at the twins and Alucard, but hidden eyes were quickly averted once they realized all the identities of the trio. Gossip was quickly stifled by the picking up of a freshly killed prey or the turning away of a guard on duty.

The Grandmaster had done well to contain all the panic and venom after Setsu's fleeing— just as she always did in a crisis, Alucard thought, bitter half smile or snort making itself known inside. The female akita gave him a rough nudge with her ribs to make him walk straighter. Alucard silently corrected his steps and coolly avoided looking at either her or her brother's face, not giving a second glance to the ripped tissue of their ears. Injuries were common now.

No one involved in the catalyst or result of the Setsu issue had come out whole, if they'd even managed to come out alive. The guard Setsu had positioned outside the cave of her drugged aid was slaughtered less than a day later, the akita assistants had lost an ear each out of a cruel joke made by Maria and indulged by her sister— 'They're twins who work together like one being… since they obey orders as such, wouldn't it be fitting for them to have one set of ears to listen with?'— and there was nothing to be said about the rest of the retrieval patrol other than he and Cain.

Hell, even they had gotten out with enough scrapes and bruises to make Alucard throb with soreness after he'd been directed to stasis; Cain himself had been cultivating a small limp as they'd headed to Ohu and back. When he thought about it, the only one to escape any repercussions or damages was Setsu's drugged aid Haloo. After the effects had worn off, he'd gladly informed the Grandmaster of what had happened and narrowly avoided being executed like the guard who'd been watching him. Haloo was now bouncing around the Clan again, running errands.

Alucard had to hold back a noise as he thought of Haloo, keeping between his guards without touching either of them. Setsu had saw fit to sic Haloo on him for one hunting trip for a pissant reason only she knew, and Alucard had gotten more than his fill of the puppish enthusiasm and odd mood behavior swings from overgrown pup to Clan guard. It was almost a pity. Beat some of the bad habits out of him, and Haloo would have made a good pet for some little girl…

The Life Sucker immediately cut his thoughts off, refusing to let them run in that direction to stir up old wounds. He had enough recent ones to deal with. One of Alucard's shoulders was jarred when the female akita guard bumped in closer, giving a clear warning as the dark mouth of a cave loomed in closer. Gnawed deer antlers were set on the top of the entrance, a cool stagnant air emanating from the large den, and Alucard braced himself as they approached the quiet sounds coming from the belly inside.

The maw of the monster awaited, curled deer antler teeth and all. Alucard made sure to hide his prickling fur and the disgusted flipping in his stomach as he heard familiar voices drifting up from the bowls of the den… Cain's included.

A second questioning was coming, Alucard thought, red eyes blinking and long tongue licking the side of his muzzle as he and his escorts stepped into the shade. The subterranean chill tugged at his fur again. Both akita guards gave two soft barks as they descended down the gentle slope of the den entrance, sunlight behind fading. Up ahead— further buried into the earth Alucard was pointedly ignoring, feeling the grooves and worn patches in the tunnel of one dog after another walking down and crawling on their bellies in submission— another duo of guards quietly moved over. Chunks of quartz scratched his shoulders.

Alucard only felt partial surprise when he and the akitas slid through the other entrance in the cave, the brother giving a growl of warning and nipping at Alucard's haunches to make him stay close in the tight-fit tunnel, and there was a smaller chamber instead of the main den. He'd heard rumors the Grandmaster had been doing some den changes, but Alucard wouldn't have been surprised if this preliminary room had been here the whole time. This whole den was a mockery of a fox warren, and the Grandmaster was one clever and wizened old vixen who refused to be dislodged from her twisting tunnels with a single bite.

Only a few speckles of sun drifted down the main tunnel behind them, the few that were lighting up the scruffy white akitas' tails with a soft glow and playing over the guard's sleek fur. The two guards closely watched Alucard with emotionless eyes he was forced to sit in the middle of the smaller chamber, akitas stiffly setting themselves down next to him. They were waiting for the summon to continue further into the home of the relic witch, and going ahead without so would just bring death down on their heads—and Alucard's.

The summon came sooner than Alucard thought, the red-eyed dog just beginning to feel tense as another guard poked their head from the whisper-filled chamber of the Grandmaster. Long, stringy ears framed a thin and scarred face with a muzzle too long for its form. Alucard was reminded painfully of what it resembled by the black tangled fur it bore on its ears. The dog had to be a Saluki mix with something. Most likely Borzoi, judging by the long and aerodynamic face.

"The Grandmaster will see you now," she said in a smooth voice. She looked over at the akitas, unblinking. "You are both dismissed to the outer entrance."

Both of them dipped their heads in respected. "Yes, sir," they said simultaneously, both rising to their feet. Alucard watched their bulky forms leave and go into the speckle of light from the corner of his eyes. They might've been leaving the darkness, but he certainly wasn't.

The two guards in the inner chamber got to their feet and stared pointedly at Alucard. The Borzoi mutt pulled back into the room, and Alucard had no choice but to dip his head in her direction before following her in. It felt like entering the lair of a spider. He pushed through the thin and winding tunnel that led into the inner chamber, feeling the rock brush against his back and a cold streak run down his spine that only had some to do with the icy quartz that lined the entrance. The guard dog followed in front of him with its spindly legs moving quickly and surely over the padded dirt floor. Alucard could only see its tail twitching in front of him now and then, feeling swallowed up by the hated home of the Grandmaster around him.

The whispers became louder, and then the guard dog slipped free from the tunnel in front of him, moving aside. Alucard kept his hackles down and heartbeat level as he sensed several other dogs in the den with him, stepping out into the shadows.

"The dog you requested, Grandmaster," the Borzoi mutt said, voice still smooth. It had gone oddly flat and emotionless in the Grandmaster's presence. Alucard knew the true feeling motivating why: nervousness. Or more adeptly, fear.

"Thank you, my dear Triyu," the Grandmaster said as Alucard moved forward. As falsely sweet as always, Alucard thought.

Triyu automatically moved to sit in a corner after bowing her head deeply, and Alucard kept himself composed as he saw the familiar face of Cain right next to the Grandmaster herself. Cain was still looking bruised and battered, though not as much as before, and there was a distinct look of cold command on his face. Sunlight filtered through a tiny webbing of cracks in the den ceiling, and they made Cain's eyes glow unnaturally bright. They looked almost like the eyes of the serpent he took his mannerisms from.

With his torn off ear and new netting of scars across his face, Alucard had to begrudgingly admit that Cain didn't… exactly… reek of incapability or incapacitation. He rebound from injuries had always been fast.

"Step forth, Alucard," the Grandmaster said, adjusting her position on her throne. She sounded like a cat playfully sheathing and unsheathing its claws, looking over a tidbit in front of her. Ragged deer skins and a few dark pelts of indistinguishable nature were piled underneath her in a grotesque mockery of a bed or nest, cushioning her aged bones and letting her bask in her dark glory.

Alucard cautiously took two steps forward, stopping himself a length away from the tattered bed of furs. As he bowed his head low and hugged his tail closer to himself, as was custom when addressing the Clan leader, he could feel Cain's eyes on him the whole time.

"You summoned me, Grandmaster?" Alucard said, avoiding direct eye contact and staring at her chest. Her fur had grown stringier in age, her limbs thinner, but still she lived, an unholy creaking mass of spirits, stretched fur, and marrow.

By some freakish element of nature, her fur had refused to silver anywhere else but the fringe that dipped down from her neck to the bottom of her chest. It was as if the color in the Clan leader's fur had viciously ate up the silvering color, refusing to let it advance, and her face was worn and drooping more than before.

The Grandmaster did not limp in her age. She still held the proud bearing of one years younger, though Alucard could never remember her looking young, not even before his corrupting entrance into the Clan. Her pelt sagged over her bony frame and hung over her ribs and haunches. The smell of decay and something much more frightening Alucard didn't attempt to seek out surrounded her in a swirling aura. Sometimes he swore he could smell more than one scent radiating from her, as if another dog hid underneath her skin…

"Why yes, dear, I did," the Grandmaster said, tilting her muzzle down to look at Alucard. "Cain and I were just having a discussion about the mission you two went on. He said you were very _loyal_ to the thought of completing it, though it was just you and he left after the beginning."

The praise on the surface of her voice seemed to be patting Alucard for more than one thing, and warning him about others. Alucard simply dipped his head again, further avoiding her eyes but struggling to keep himself from escalating into complete submission. The Grandmaster knew what he'd felt about Mayu and Mao… as well as what their fates had been, and what he felt about Cain.

"I did what was necessary, Grandmaster," Alucard said, tone level and the same amount of emotionless Triyu's had been. "Following her to Ohu along with Cain was required."

Something smug glinted in the Grandmaster's ancient eyes, and she leaned forward, old and yellowed fangs bared in a smile.

"Is that so? Tell me about Ohu, Alucard…"

XXX

The news was all abuzz within Ohu; bits and tidbits of information and facts. Different words spread amongst different dogs. The exact truth differed depending upon who was telling the story. As they reached her ears, she sifted through which were true, and which weren't. It was a difficult thing to distinguish for she had not witnessed it. The first mention of the event reached her when her frightened daughter was escorted home. What her daughter was doing away from the den, she didn't know. Unlike Wing, Mina could be trusted to go where she could go and where she couldn't. She never questioned Mina on her whereabouts, for as soon as the rumors reached her ears, she went to investigate. There the body lay before her, torn asunder of flesh and bone. Its features could vaguely showed themselves upon the shredded body

Mayu's eyes glanced over the corpse with much attentiveness. She had heard it all; this dog had attacked her daughter. Although she would have liked to have been there to demonstrate her maternal instincts, that time had passed; she was just thankful her daughter was safe and sound; frightened but safe. She went over the body five times, trying to ascertain the familiarity of it all. The fifth time was what was needed. Mayu noticed the bits of fur that lay between the muscle and bone openings. The color, and the blood stained scent reached her nose. Eyes widened with alarm.

Were they here?

Fear laced into her observation, a fear she hadn't felt in such a long time. The scars upon her back flared with memory of their creation. Such sad echoes of the past, echoes she had wanted to forget. Closing her eyes, the fiery pain reached her mind. More memories dug themselves out clawing their way to the surface. Mayu didn't bother burying them again; she merely took it like a male, or at least how she would expect a male to take it within this one gender dominated army. As much as she tried to deny it, she couldn't. It was too obvious to not make sense. Mayu had foolishly thought they were behind her. When she was given that opening that day, she ran with hope of escape. With hope in her eyes she had set forth. That hope increased as she started her family.

With this coming tide, her family was in danger. It was time to face that tide, just as she would with anything in her life.

XXX

Weed listened closely to what the female had to say; every word. Ever since Hougan's death, Weed had held onto the concept of peace. He didn't think it foolish to do so. After all, peace was what the end result of war was. For now that seemed like a far off concept. A fool's notion.

The female, Mayu stood there, silently and idly chewing on a twig; an oral fixation that had long since engrained in her. His father Gin sat in-between them, listening and gauging the other's reactions.

"That's all there is to say." Mayu finished before resuming back to her twig. It was an addiction, some that warned would eventually grind her teeth down. Mayu paid those words no heed, not that health warnings were important right now.

"Do you really think they'll come here?" Gin asked with uncertainty."

Mayu switched the twig's position in her mouth. "Without a doubt," She answered. "I've lived with them for most of my life. I know how they work."

Weed stood there in shock for a moment. During the brief time Mayu had spoken, she had given enough information to leave an audible imprint upon the young dog. Though through war he had seen the horrors of death and pain, to hear it inflicted upon such young puppies left a mark upon him. He had grown up in relative safety and love. Even if his father wasn't around at the time, he still held onto the hope Gin cared despite his absence. Still, there was the matter of Teru. Yet in the end, his father had proven he loved his son, and in a sense making up for the long days of abuse.

"What should we do?" Weed asked. The question was directed at no one, yet he wanted an answer from someone.

Mayu chewed on the twig, biting into it and tasting the wooden flesh upon her tongue. The bitter taste burned only for a moment. Swathing her tongue in an attempt to banish the taste from her mouth, it vanished, although mostly Mayu simply took in its addicting flavor.

"If I were you...leader," Mayu added some hesitance with the word. She still couldn't get used to the idea of a child leading, especially one so fresh. Mayu could smell the lack of blood upon his soul. One who had not fully tasted suffering. Mayu herself had experienced it firsthand, living through each day with hope faintly dying out. How she had managed to make it through that life long nightmare was a miracle. "I would start planning now." Mayu spit out the twig, no longer satisfied with its taste. "They'll grab at this paradise till there is nothing left." She said right as she left.

Weed stood there in stunned silence. Peace had once more escaped the grasp of Ohu, and they were left with a new storm cloud on the horizon.

"Dad. I'm scared." Weed admitted. As a leader, he shouldn't have shown fear, especially not to his father, the great hero who took down the demon bear.

"Don't be ashamed Weed." Gin comforted. "You're still young."

Weed only took that at half comforting. He had braved Hougan's terror yet couldn't handle another one?

"Do you think I wasn't afraid when I fought Akakabuto?" Gin asked.

Weed stared at his father in disbelief at the implication. "The answer is no. I was afraid, more than you can tell."

"But you killed him." Weed countered.

"True." Gin replied right back. "But that doesn't mean I wasn't scared. Only fools aren't afraid before a battle."

Fear was a natural part of life. Everyone faced it, and to deny it would be foolish. Weed knew fear well, but he had simply viewed that it as a hinderance to ignore.

"Facing fear is another form of bravery." Gin stated. "I know that well." Gin could almost feel the snow and biting wind against his fur. The cold winter battle was like a remembrance of yesterday. Death and bravery all around him, fighting against the demon bear that opposed them. Indeed Gin was afraid; he had only been a child then, drafted into a war. As a child, he had to bear it, figuratively and literally of course.

The Ohu army didn't need a weak little pup longing for the father he hardly knew. Torn from his mother and siblings by his own choice, he went into the unknown future and in the end, came out a full-fledged soldier. Yet, at the cost of his father Riki. Although peace came as a reward, (at least until the wolf fiasco), that hadn't changed the fact he was afraid. In some ways, he still was afraid. He had lost two members of his family. One in front of his own eyes, while another apart from him. He didn't want to lose a third.

"I know you can handle this son." Gin reassured Weed.

Weed managed a smile in his father's reassurance. There was a storm coming, and Ohu would be ready for it. Weed just hoped he was ready.

XXX

Mina had been quiet the entire time she had been returned. Although he couldn't see, he could tell his child had been frightened the moment Kagetora brought her. Bat and Mayu had been given sparse details, but later talks revealed more. Mayu had gone to discuss matters with the leader, leaving Bat with the pups. Wing and Kuro idly played with each other, Wing himself dominating his younger brother. Kuro, being the runt, did his best to resist his brother's strength. Wing only lifted himself to allow his brother up just so he could pin him again.

Bat chuckled. Those two reminded him so much of his youth; the carefree days before his sight was taken from him. Yet there was the concern of his daughter. Mina was his little girl, and admittedly Bat held a sheltering instinct towards her. Maybe it was the gender stereotype that had been forcibly engrained in all of canine society. Mayu of course, along with Reika and Cross were exceptions to that stereotype. Knowing his mate, Mayu would more likely bring Mina up to be among those ranks. Bat would like to see his daughter grow up strong, if only with slightly different forms of training.

Silently, Bat walked over to Mina's, facing her back. The young puppy felt the cold nose of her father brush against her fur.

"Mina?" Bat beckoned.

Mina craned her head, and gave a few licks of playfulness towards her father. Bat gave a light lick in response against her backside.

"Yeah Dad?" Mina asked.

Bat's hot breath washed over Mina, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Is everything all right sweetheart?"

Mina couldn't hide things from her father. To be honest, she felt that her father was the only one she could confide in, save for Cross. Mina thought a lot about the old saluki. Their conversation had been ripped apart forcefully, and not seeing her worried Mina to no end. Yet somehow she knew that Cross was alright, or hoped at least.

"Y-yeah Daddy, I'm fine." Mina answered.

Looking at her father, Mina noticed the unconvinced expression upon his scarred face. That only served to show her that she really couldn't keep anything a secret.

"Mina, please, tell me what's wrong."

Bat's voice held a comforting undertone. It was the same kind that Cross had used, bringing a sense of familiarity. Slowly, Mina softened up to her father, finding compelled to reveal everything.

"I was scared Daddy." Mina admitted. "I was really scared."

Bat placed his head across Mina's shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe. That's all that matters."

"I'm sorry Daddy." Mina apologized. "I was trying to be brave, just like Mom wants."

Bat fell silent for a moment. "Mina, did your mother talk to you about anything recently?"

Mina turned her head around. "No. She said she wanted to, but she never did."

Bat sighed. Mayu had yet to have a talk with Mina. He could still sense the feelings of disapproval that Mina felt that Mayu held towards her. Bat could see the irony in the whole mother daughter relationship problems that both Mayu and Mina faced. It seemed to be in the blood.

"Mina it's okay, you can tell me anything you want. Even if you were scared." Bat assured his daughter.

Mina managed a smile. "You're just like Miss Cross."

Bat's mouth opened slightly when he heard that name. "What?"

Mina gasped in a tiny tone. Hesitation mixed in with her words. Mina berated herself in her head. "_Stupid! You shouldn't have said that._"

"Well I-um-well. I went to meet this dog. Her name was Cross. We talked and well she made me feel good about myself." Mina admitted. Turning around to face her father, Mina held her head down. One other thing that had neglected to be discussed: Mina's wandering off without permission. Since she had been brought back, Bat nor Mayu had spoken to their daughter of this indiscretion. Mina herself felt very shamed at what she had done. Unlike the irresponsible Wing, Mina always listened to the rules her parents set for her, well besides Kuro that is, but Kuro was too timid to really do anything on his own. Mina silently prided herself on being a well behaved daughter.

"You like this Cross?" Bat asked.

Mina was washed over with relief, and surprise that her father once more dodged the subject of disobedience.

"Y—y-yeah. Yes! I do. She's very nice." Mina declared.

Bat's face cracked with a smile. "I'm glad Mina." A family bond had been formed between a forbidden link. Least forbidden as far as Mayu was concerned. Bat hadn't forgotten Mayu's intention of barring all traces of Cross and her family from their lives. Bat on the other hand, wasn't so keen on that idea.

"Mina?"

"Yes Dad?"

Bat knelt close to Mina's ear. "I think it's best if we don't mention this to your mother. Your talking with Cross."

Mina said nothing in response to that. But she agreed.

XXX

Cross laid her head upon the ground. A few insects that crawling underneath tickled her skin. Disappointment etched inside her. Her little meeting with Mina hadn't gone as she had planned. It appeared as if fate had conspired against her. Just when she had a chance to regain a portion of her old family, the chance was snatched away from her. It was depressing to be frank.

"How are you faring Cross?" Ben's voice came as a sudden but welcome surprise. She could use the comfort.

"Fine I suppose." Cross said whilst embracing her mate. Cross's eyes didn't match with Ben's and continued to face away from him. "I was so close to one of them." She said longingly.

Ben knew she meant one of the pups. Her grandpups, not his. Frankly, Ben was starting to doubt he would ever see grandpups of his own blood in his lifetime.

"What was Mina like?" Ben asked.

Cross thought back to the small puppy, her only granddaughter. "Such a sweet little girl. I can see much of her mother in her, she has my impatience." Cross smiled. "Such a polite girl, respectful of her elders. Such a little joy." A tear fell from Cross's eye. "She reminded me so much of Miney."

Memories of their departed daughter played through the minds of both parents. Mina and Miney were so very much alike, it was as if a ghost from the past had returned through her eldest daughter's child. Mina was part of Cross's hope that she could regain her family bond, for she had lost one daughter already, and she didn't want to lose another one.

"Is it ever going to be right between me and her?" Cross asked. She didn't need to explain.

"I don't know." Ben answered.

Cross sniffed, fighting back her tears. "I don't want to lose any more of my family." Cross lamented.

Ben embraced her again. His hold took away all of the pain that gripped her. Cross could sense that more pain was on the way. That dog she faced only hinted at what was to come. Cross may have been old, but all of those years had made her wise. Yet still, she held something even more precious: hope.


	21. Chapter 21

Something new was in the air.

Tesshin kept his nose and ears on alert as he stalked through the foliage. Silent and swift, he kept out of sight. The birds fled long after he had passed them. The sun dappled against his fur, just barely amongst the space left between the leaves. He paid them no mind, seeing as they did not deter his mission. Yes; he wasn't out here on his own volition, but rather given the command by his leader. Tesshin didn't mind nor grumble, this is what he lived for; in skill that is.

Barely a sound he made as he continued to work his way through the path. Something was off-putting within the forest; that much he could tell. The Koga had a sixth sense for things such as this. Then again, he was a ninja after all. He could feel it in the air and the distant sounds of the wildlife. He hadn't been the only one present in the forest; the only dog to be precise.

Suddenly there was a flash of sound, a far off tweet in the distance. It reached his ears just a few seconds off from when it was uttered. It wasn't anything special, any dog could hear it. To him however, it held a specific meaning: he was being followed.

Silently he cursed. How could he have missed it? Turning back wouldn't be an option, not when he was so close. Those who had had come through here, and the one who was trailing him; they had to be together. It was a guess, but a guess Tesshin decided to follow. Another breath clashed against his own; distant yet near. He could feel a pair of eyes observing him, going up his spine to his very ridge of hair. Step by step they equaled two pairs of four. There were several openings present; the question was when they would be able to take it.

The feeling continued to expand, forming from caution into dread. Bloodlust entered the air, Tesshin could feel it; that wasn't good. Tesshin sprang his body back, eyes switching from left to right in anticipation. The time was now— there couldn't be a time for hesitation. And then they pounced, both sides facing one another.

* * *

Mina was silent the whole way, something Mayu anticipated. It couldn't really be helped. Besides, it was somewhat her fault. At last she and Mina had some time alone together. Now was as good a time as any. Mayu looked back at her daughter.

"Mina, keep up." She beckoned.

"Yes Mom." Mina responded, speeding up her pace.

The little puppy padded up to her mother. Mayu gave a tiny but unnoticeable smile; her daughter wasn't weak, not if she would have anything to do with it. But, that desire wasn't entirely beneficial, at least from what Bat had told her. Mayu sighed; how had she screwed up so much? If she had been more careful in the first place, she wouldn't be having this talk with Mina. Nothing could be done about it now, this was happening whether either of them liked it or not.

The mother and daughter pair sat by a swift moving stream. Curiously, the mixed breed pup looked into the water, observing her distorted reflection with a short giggle. She nearly did the same to her mother's reflection, but kept silent. Mom wasn't in the mood for laughing.

"Mina, I wanted to talk to you about some things." Mayu was direct with her intentions.

Mina lowered her head staying out of her mother's gaze. "I know Mom."

The tone of voice only furthered Mayu's frustration. She could feel her daughter's uncomfortably at this scenario. What kind of mother was she? Her own child didn't want to talk to her. If only she had noticed her actions, the way she was hurting Mina. It made her worry about her other children. Wing was a pawfull, always getting into trouble. Sometimes she wondered if she was keeping a closer eye upon him. Hell, if she had stayed awake a little longer that night during their trip to Ohu, Wing wouldn't have wandered off and gotten himself drunk on that beer.

Mayu had learned of the term and the drink from some other dogs in the Ohu camp. Apparently Wing wasn't the first dog (or puppy) who had sampled the forbidden nectar that was alcohol. Needless to say, the "hangover" that occurred afterwards had made certain certain soldiers would not get themselves soused again. Although Wing being Wing, nothing could be certain with her eldest son. The only pup of her's that seemed unscathed was Kuro.

Though, was she inadvertently harming her youngest as well?

Mayu banished those thoughts out of her mind. That fear couldn't deter her from what she had set out to do.

"Mina, please look at me," Mayu said with a hint of command in her voice.

Mina obeyed, knowing it was unwise to disobey her mother. Her mother had quite the temper; then again, she could very well be the same way if pushed enough.

Mayu and Mina's eyes matched one another. Although they looked different in terms of breeding, anyone could tell they were mother and daughter. The connection was too evident to be doubted.

"What did you want to talk about Mom?" Mina asked.

There couldn't be any delay, this had to be discussed.

"Mina... your father has brought to my attention some things that I haven't noticed before." Mayu stated with the utmost coolness.

Mina's eyes widened. Was her mother mad at her? The very thought frightened her, causing her to wince.

"I'm not mad Mina." Mayu said softly, hoping to reassure her child. It made her slightly ashamed to call herself a mother to see her child afraid of her.

Mina's body relaxed at her mother's words. It wasn't like her mother to lie to her.

"Look, Mina... I know I've been hard on you. But trust me, it's for your own good." Mayu explained.

Mina knew that, least from what her mother always said. Mother's did know best after all. Mrs. Cross was a mother and she seemed to know a lot. The thought of the old saluki made her happy.

"If you say so Mom."

Mayu wasn't so convinced her daughter understood. "Mina you have to believe me. I only have good intentions for you. That's all I wanted."

Mayu's tone of voice took on a more serious tone. That garnered Mina's attention.

"The world is a dangerous place Mina. Life is hard, especially for a female."

"Females? Why?" Mina asked.

That answer was easy for Mayu. "Females Mina... we aren't viewed as soldiers. Some males think us weak, and I don't want that for you."

Mayu leaned in close to her child. "Look Mina. I push you because I want you to be the best you can be. I want everyone, especially males, not to view you as some kind of prize."

In this world, a canine world, females were simply viewed as weak breeding tools for popping out pups. The Ohu army had a few female soldiers, her included, and she wanted Mina to be one of them.

"As your mother, it's my job to make sure you grow up right, and that's what I'm going to do." Mayu declared. "I love you Mina, just as much as your brothers, no more no less."

Mina didn't know what to say. This was the first time her mother had spoken to her at length such as this.

"So you do all this because you love me?" Mina finally asked.

"Yes." Mayu smiled.

At last, Mina smiled as well. "Thanks Mom. I love you."

At that moment, Mayu was surprised and happy. Surprised this little talk went well, and happy she and her child were able to see eye to eye. Pleased with herself, Mayu turned around to take her daughter back home. It was only a few steps before a familiar scent reached her nose; her's and Mina's. Both females turned around to find a white shape on the opposite side of the stream. Mayu's body shook slightly while Mina brightened up immensely.

"Mrs. Cross!" She cried happily, lost in her childish emotions.

The moment Mina realized her mistake, her mother was looking down at her.

"What did you say?" Mayu asked, surprised at the familiarity of the adult's name to the puppy.

Mina backed down immediately, noticing her mother's expression.

Cross knew something had been broken. With reluctant eyes, she viewed the two females who shared her blood. Something inside her told her she should have stayed with Ben. The lull of a walk was too great however.

"Hello, Mina; Mayu," Cross greeted, hoping to break the ice.

* * *

Tesshin didn't visit the old Koga camp too often, only to check on things every once in a while. The elder and his budding orphans-turned-ninja handled things perfectly fine without him. There was no need to breathe over their shoulders as they worked.

So it was rare for him to find he was staring almost into a mirror outside the old Koga camp.

Tesshin couldn't help the sharp gasp that escaped him as he and the other dog circled each other, both of their crested heads bowed in concentration. His eyes widened before the other Koga's snarl quickly made them narrow in concentration again, keeping Tesshin on his toes as they continued their not-so-delicate circling, trying to find weak chinks in each other's armors. The smooth way they moved was almost identical. The smell of ancient hate and pure rage poured off the other Koga the longer he beheld Tesshin in his eyes.

"Kurojaki, you _son of a bitch_," the other dog snarled, his voice low and venomous. Tesshin was unsure of whether he was speaking to him or himself, but the younger Koga didn't give the question too much thought as he continued his on-guard circling. "You actually had some goddamn _spawn_."

"Who are you?" Tesshin said. "What are you doing in Ohu?" He and the older Koga made direct unbroken eye contact, the most aggressive and hateful measure to be taken short of a fight itself. Their golden brown eyes stared into each other, unflinching and unyielding as they still paced around each other.

Tesshin knew not to stop moving. If he stilled himself, the other dog would pounce, and he could be caught. Rule one of ninja combat: do not become tangible first. Do not be caught. Their making eye contact didn't matter; Tesshin could sense all of his surroundings with every fiber of muscle and fur in his body, and by the way the other dog moved, he could do the same. A strike could be made at any moment or countered in any direction.

Tesshin knew the limitations and talents of the Koga by heart; he wasn't about to underestimate one of the older generation that had waged bitter war on Akame before throwing themselves into a fire. The fact that he still lived without the hideous branded burn marks of the current Koga elder said something else altogether.

The other dog bared his teeth in a silent snarl and taunting challenge of fangs.

"Your oncoming death."

In a blur of movement, the two dogs launched themselves at each other, colliding in midair with a writhe of muscle, fangs snapping, and they tore apart from the ball of flying melee and crashed to the ground, landing on their feet and snarling as they rolled away. Tesshin barely managed to dodge a snap of fangs at his face as the other dog lunged at him, and both ninjas bobbed and weaved around each other's bites and blows.

Tesshin growled, ducking under a kick at his face and slamming his head into the other dog's chest. "Who are you?"

Drake's reflexes bounced back, and as the wheeze of air left his throat, he bared his teeth at Tesshin in a hateful snarl. He jumped and seesawed his front and back legs, avoiding the body sweep the younger dog tried to take his limbs out from under him with, and Drake brought down one hardened front leg down on Tesshin's snout as the other dog tried to catch him in the stomach. Another hard blow and slam into Tesshin's neck and ribs, and the Ohu warrior was sent away rolling. Drake gave a twisted smile of fury through the blood running down the side of his mouth from a scruff.

"The Undertaker's Sweep. Of course you'd know that move, wouldn't you? Trying to take someone's legs under them and making them leap to avoid it, then ripping out their entrails while their belly's open in the air. Kurojaki's little pet move." Drake circled Tesshin, a bloody leer on his face as the younger Koga hopped up, breathing harder as he tried to recover.

Tesshin was forced to dodge another lunge, but he was ready this time, sidestepping before hitting Drake in the chest with his shoulder. The older dog's teeth snapped together almost on top of his mohawk, Tesshin feeling the graze of teeth over his head, and the younger ninja grunted before spinning around and kicking Drake in the gut as hard as possible. Drake snarled before twisting away from Tesshin, but the Ohu dog cut him off, forcing Drake away from the trees and into the clearing.

"I _said,_" Tesshin snarled, forcing Drake to dodge two swift strikes at his head, "_who are you?_"

Drake gave no response but a snarl, dropping into another crouch. Tesshin danced away before the older dog could strike. With all his scars and worn hatred out in full force, Drake was a walking remnant of everything the old Koga tribe had ever been. Drake almost leered at the growing frustration beneath Tesshin's composed mask.

"Shit. Seeing you're here, I have to suppose that Kurojaki kicked the bucket," Drake spat, his enthusiasm dying as he thought of the implications Tesshin meant. "That or he failed to bring up his successor… t'ch… wouldn't put either of them past him." Tesshin slowly began to circle Drake, staying low to the ground as he silently observed the other Koga's face darkening.

Drake paused, seeming to come to a conclusion, and he licked his lips, displaying his rows of fangs. His eyes narrowed on Tesshin. "But no matter. If I can't have the father, I'll just have the _son_—"

Tesshin rolled over as Kurojaki suddenly lunged forward, slicing at his face with a sweep of his front leg. Before Tesshin could retaliate, Kurojaki swerved to the right, driving his head into Tesshin's neck. The ninja choked as the head-butt crushed the air from his throat. He struggled to get his balance and weave away, but Kurojaki was faster, sinking his teeth into Tesshin's scruff. Bloodied fur splayed around Tesshin's neck.

With a grunt of effort, Kurojaki spun around, using Tesshin's momentum against him, and threw the smaller dog across the clearing. Tesshin slammed into the ground back first, leaving a smear of blood across the dirt. He rolled over, barely catching himself on his feet the second spin, and Tesshin darted to the side, barely escaping a bite aimed at his ribs from the charging Drake.

If he kept up the evasions, he might be able to tire the older Koga out and get the advantage, Tesshin thought, running towards the trees. He could hear Drake on his heels, scathingly muttering something about a coward beneath his breath— and sounding delighted about it— and Tesshin increased his speed, focusing on the large tree in front of him.

Drake was too distracted by his hateful, delighted rage to realize what was going to happen until Tesshin leaped.

In a powerful bound of legs, Tesshin jumped up the side of the large tree, pivoted when his feet hit the bark, and launched himself back towards Drake.

The younger Koga hit the older head on, they rolled, and then a painfully wheezing Drake was slammed against the ground with thud, Tesshin's feet firmly pinning his legs down. Drake coughed a few times as Tesshin leaned in, his teeth bared. The two ninjas were almost pressed nose to scarred nose.

"I said— and I will not ask you again— _who are you?_"

Drake sneered, staring up into Tesshin's face. "As if I owe my name to a whelpy son-of-a-bitch like you. Pfft, up close, you even look like your whore of a mother; I'm not surprised Kurojaki ended up rutting with _her_ after all—"

The back of Drake's head smashed again the ground as Tesshin snarled, making him recoil. Drake swallowed slowly as he felt Tesshin's sharp, bared teeth only a hair's breadth away from his exposed throat. A thin line of blood ran down from Tesshin's temple and down his face, and a similar red streak leaked from the side of Drake's mouth.

"I am done having patience with you," Tesshin growled softly, digging his claws into Drake's legs. Drake remained silence for once, eyes wide as he saw the ghost of familiar face staring back at him from Tesshin's angry expression. "For the last time, before I paralyze your legs and drag you back to Ohu, _who are you?_"

Drake muttered something under his breath, his words almost a pathetic whimper. Tesshin frowned, unable to understand him.

"What?" he said.

Drake muttered something again, in an even lower voice than before as he squirmed uncomfortably under Tesshin's weight, and Tesshin was forced to lean closer to hear him. The older dog pinned beneath him looked almost pitiful now with his mohawk waywardly crushed into the ground and ears flopped back in submission.

Then Tesshin leaned too close to hear him.

"This technique might've worked when your father used it," Drake whispered. "But you're not Kurojaki."

In one brutal strike, Drake sank his teeth into Tesshin's muzzle, broke free of Tesshin's grip, and nailed him in the stomach with a kick from both his back legs. The world twisted, Tesshin felt his muzzle catch fire with pain as Drake's teeth twisted into him and the bigger dog flipped him over his head. With a thud, a gasping Tesshin hit ground, blood leaking from his face. He didn't have time to get up before he felt four paws being stomped down on his legs to pinion him down in a perfect mirror of the previous situation, and the bloodied, leering face of Drake was staring down at him.

"_Surprise_, Kurojaki's brat!" he rasped. Drake grinned, baring his all his fangs as he leaned closer to Tesshin, grinding his paws into the trapped dog's skin. "I guess I'll count this as one of the damn birthday presents I missed giving you over the years I was in exile."

Suddenly, Drake's expression twisted, and Tesshin barely jerked his already bloodied face back in time to avoid a vicious snap at his face. He panted in pain, already feeling Kurojaki's first bite aching and dripping blood all over his face, and Drake's face was distorted with hateful anger as he shoved it up into Tesshin's. All Tesshin could see was Drake's yellow, crazed eyes, his ruffled mohawk and blood-spotted snout, and the rows and rows of sharp, curved canines only inches from his throat. Drake's exerted breathing rolled again Tesshin's face, smelling of rotted meat and death.

"Did you _really _think that one was going to work?" Drake snarled, glaring down at his prisoner. "Years and years of hunting you and fucking father down and killing anyone in the way, only to realize he was DEAD— that someone else had the Koga— and you think a little trick taught to pups was going to bail your throat out?" Drake leaned even closer, and Tesshin had trouble keeping his breath level in his throat as he literally felt Drake's fangs brush against the side of his face. Some of the blood running down the side of his mouth dripped down onto his fur.

"Let me tell you just one thing before this ends, Kurojaki's son," Drake whispered, his hot breath curling down Tesshin's ear. He kept his eyes on Tesshin the whole time, making sure he couldn't attempt to pull the same trick he had just used, and Tesshin knew trying it would be useless. His throat would be ripped out in an instant if he so much as moved.

He was trapped.

"My name is Drake. And you and your friends are going to be meeting up in hell very, very soon after the Grandmaster is done with you."

Tesshin felt everything within his chest ice up as Drake pulled away from his ear, the koga's whiskers bristling and lips curling back as he opened his mouth to take a bite, and at the same time, the Ohu warrior's heart began thudding frantically as he realized that, this time, there really was no way out.

Tesshin's eyes almost closed when he saw the tiny flinch of Drake drawing back that meant a strike was coming, and—

A long, mournful howl sounded over the trees, echoing through the forest. Drake and Tesshin froze. The older koga looked up in the direction the howl had come from, his ears perked. Tesshin couldn't identify who it was, though he was having trouble doing anything at the moment.

"…well, damn," Drake said, sounding disappointed. He looked down at Tesshin, making sure to stomp one of his back legs again. "Looks like you got lucky, whelp. The lifesucker is calling me back."

For a moment, there was an increase in the pressure on Tesshin's legs, and then Drake had sprang away, neatly landing on his feet near the edge of the clearing. Tesshin instantly flipped back upright, panting as he licked the blood shedding down his face.

Drake didn't bother to lick at the line of dripping blood on his muzzle, letting it patter on the ground. He stood on the side of the clearing with a casual, almost dignified pose, watching Tesshin bristle and prepare for another attack.

"We'll settle this another time, Kurojaki's brat," he said. Drake bared part of his fangs. "And I hope you'll be harder to tear apart the next time around. You're pathetic and disappointing end for years of revenge seeking. Little shit. You're not even worth it at this point."

Drake grinned.

"But you did get my name."

In a few bounds, the koga disappeared into the trees before Tesshin could stop him, bounding over the ground before taking to the air. Tesshin could hear branches and leaves rustling long after Drake had disappeared from sight, and then, nothing.

It was at that moment that the Ohu dog realized how hard his heart was pounding, and how ragged and raw his breathing was.

Tesshin took a deep breath, closing his eyes and forcing himself to calm down and level his erratic pulse. He had never been so close to death before except in his duel with Kite, and even then, Kite had been no ragged, exiled Koga, who had known his father… _and _his—

Tesshin slowly opened his eyes, done calming himself. He felt in control of his body and reflexes now, and how much the bite across his snout had hurt was beginning to set in. He would need to have it looked at or nursed in private, Tesshin thought. There was no sense in dying from infection.

The wounded warrior gathered himself up, still licking his injuries, and limped home.


End file.
